Can't you see I'm easily bothered by persistence?

One step from lashing out at you…

You want in, to get under my skin...

Call yourself a friend…

Kenny mouthed the words as one of his favorite songs blared through his radio speakers. His eyes stayed trained on the part in his left hand, right hand holding a screwdriver; trying to loosen screws that hadn't been turned in years. He bit his lip, putting his full attention on the task at hand, trying to apply just the right amount of pressure so he wouldn't…

RING!

…slip.

"Fuck!" he growled as the screwdriver slipped, smacking into the top of his leg. He glared heatedly at his phone for deciding right at that second to start ringing. Grabbing the remote from the workbench he silenced the radio. With a huff, he reached for the phone. The screen was lit up, and the name Kyle flashed repeatedly across it. Kenny glanced at the clock. Kyle usually didn't call him this late.

"Yeah man, what's up?" he answered, putting the phone against his shoulder and picking up the carburetor again.

"Hey dude, hope I'm not botherin' ya."

"Nah, just fuckin' around in the garage. What you up to?"

"Not much…" Kyle trailed off before clearing his throat. "Look, I hate to be callin' you for this, but Ike just got home from this party and he's all freaked out and demanded that I get a hold of you."

Kenny snorted, placing the head of the screwdriver back into the slot on the screw. "Why would Ike want you to call me?"

"Well…" Kenny could sense the awkward tone in Kyle's voice clear as day. "He went over to this costume party tonight, he thinks he will be a better class president if he knows his 'people' in their natural habitat, and Karen was there…"

"Karen?" Protective older brother mode was turned on and the carburetor completely forgotten. "She's at her friend's house studying for some big history exam. She didn't go to any parties tonight."

"Ike said he saw her there. You know how he feels about her, and he was all worried and shit cause he said she was drinking and…"

"Whoa." Kenny cut him off before he could finish. "Karen doesn't fucking drink, you know that."

"Ken I'm not callin' to accuse Karen of anything. You know I care about her, just don't want to see her get hurt. I would go check it out myself but didn't feel like that would be right…figured you would want to handle it."

Kenny sighed heavily as he stood up, running his free hand through his messy blonde hair.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry for snappin'. Where is she?"

"Ike said she was at the Campbell house, it's like two blocks from fat asses."

"I know where it is. Thanks for the call, man."

"Hey, no problem. If you need anything, call me."

Kenny thanked him before hitting the end call button on his phone. His mind was going at full speed. Karen never lied to him. But, why would Ike lie? Ike was too much of a goody goody to start a rumor, especially about someone he had been crushing on for years. Kenny checked the clock again. It was almost ten. She had told him she would be home by then. Walking towards his dirt bike, Kenny grabbed his thick orange zip up hoodie off the hanger and pulled it on. Jumping on the bike, he fired it up, opened the garage door, and headed out into the chilly October air.

Kenny's mind was all over the place as he rode down the dark streets, the cold night air biting at his exposed knuckles. It had been almost a whole year since his parents had been put in prison for drug trafficking and child abuse charges. Kenny, now 19, had just been old enough to gain custody of Karen, who was now 15.

He was pretty proud of the two of them. He had gotten a job out of high school at a local atv/motorcycle dealer where he was working as a mechanic. If there was one thing he had learned from shop class other than how to burn his friends with soldering irons, it was that he was a half decent wrench. He was making enough to afford rent on a small two bedroom house where he and Karen now lived.

Kevin had high-tailed it out of South Park right after his parents were thrown behind bars. Kenny hadn't heard from him since last Christmas, when he had sent $200 with instructions to buy Karen something nice.

Speaking of Karen, she had truly flourished. With a stable home life with her brother, her grades had improved dramatically; she was in the top percentile of her class. Kenny had her high honor roll certificate hanging on the fridge from her last grading period the year prior. She had made a few good friends (at least he had thought they were good friends) and seemed happy as could be.

Which is why the whole situation he was about to encounter troubled him so much.

Karen had a great dislike towards alcohol and drinking because of their parents. Shit, he couldn't have a beer without her giving him disapproving looks, reminding him that it led to nothing but trouble.

So why the fuck would his fifteen year old sister be drinking at a costume party?!

Kenny rounded the curve onto Cartman's street and started looking at the houses. He knew Emily Campbell, the friend who was supposedly having the party. He had met her parents; they sure as hell didn't seem like the kind of people who would have an underage binge drinking Halloween party.

Maybe Ike had been mistaken? Maybe he thought she was drinking alcohol and instead she had had a glass of punch of something?

That made more sense.

Kenny felt his shoulders relax. His Karen wouldn't be getting drunk; she was probably just taking a break from studying, lost track of time. She wouldn't be so foolish.

He heard the music thumping over the rumble of the motorcycle before he even saw the Campbell house. The young blonde cringed. How the fuck hadn't the cops been called? He pulled into the driveway and shut the bike off, staring as what looked like the rays from a strobe light flashing through the front bay window. There was no way his Karen was in there.

Making his way to the front door with heavy feet, he pounded on the door with his fist, anger boiling up in him already.

"Kenny!"

Kenny took a surprised step backwards as a young girl launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It is so good to see you!" she squealed. He looked closely at her as she pulled away. It was Emily, or at least this girl resembled her. This girl looked much older than fifteen. With heavy eye makeup, fake vampire teeth, a tight red corset top that pushed what little cleavage she had right into his face, short-short-short skirt, knee high platform boots, and a long flowing cape, she reminded him of a slutty bride of Dracula.

"Errr…hi Emily." He began awkwardly, putting some distance between them, a hand reaching behind him to scratch nervously at the back of his neck. "I'm looking for Karen. Is she here?"

Emily giggled as she latched on to Kenny's free arm, looking up at him, plastic fangs glinting in the porch light.

"You aren't mad, are you? Seriously, she needed to relax, she has been studying so hard! She has skipped out on the like, last five parties. She needed to get out."

Kenny winced as the girl hung on to him, the smell of alcohol very apparent.

"I'm not mad." He said tersely, removing himself from her. "I just need to find my sister. It's time for her to come home."

"Kenny…" she whined, trying once again to grab onto him. He avoided her this time, and slid behind her to open the door to the house.

The thumping of the bass assaulted his eardrums as he pushed his way into the crowded house. There were teenagers everywhere. There wasn't an inch of floor space where there wasn't a body gyrating to the music that rattled the windows in their frames.

He was honestly impressed. Kenny didn't attend too many parties anymore, but this one looked really good. He shook his head, reminding himself that he was here to get his sister the hell out of here, not to join in.

Like she was reading his thoughts, Emily was back at his side, holding his hand.

"My parents are gone for the weekend!" she shouted in his ear over the music. "You should stay awhile! I would love to dance with you!"

Kenny shook his head, not bothering to answer her, and started pushing his way through the crowd. His eyes scanned around for his sister, but with everyone in some form of costume, it was a lot harder than he originally planned.

"Emily, where is Karen?" he finally turned around and faced the girl who had yet to quit following him. She shrugged and pulled on his hand again.

"Come one, Kenny, we are just having fun!"

His temper reaching the boiling point, he once again shook Karen's drunk friend off his arm and resumed his search. The song ended, granting him a moment of blessed silence, before the next heavy bass song came on. The crowd cheered and resumed dancing just as he pushed his way to the outside of the group, his nerves on edge. He had to find her. On his walk through he had seen way too many guys who were too old to be hanging out with a bunch of little girls.

"Kenny! Wait! I found her!" Emily shouted to him, tugging on his hoodie and bouncing on her tip toes, pointing towards the stairs that lead to the upstairs portion of the house.

Kenny's world stopped.

It was Karen alright. Except, she wasn't wearing the outfit she had left his house in. She was in short, black, spandex shorts with a tail attached to the back, a short black top that showed her entire stomach, black heels, and a pair of cat ears poking out from her long, brunette hair.

What alarmed him more than the amount of skin she was showing, were the two guys leading her up the stairs, catching her as she tripped a second time. She appeared to be giggling, her hand over her mouth, as the two guys hauled her upright and laughed with her. The one leaned over and kissed her square on the mouth. They looked to be nearly his age.

Kenny bolted through the crowd, throwing people out of his way. He reached the stairs and jumped clear over the railing, landing in the middle of them just as his sister and the pirate man and the zombie guy made their way to the second floor.

"Leave her the fuck alone!" he screamed, climbing two stairs at a time. He reached the pirate man, who had just kissed his sister, first. Putting both hands on his shoulders he pulled backwards, throwing the already drunk man off balance and tumbling down the stairs. He dodged the falling body and grabbed the zombie dressed teen by the throat, throwing him against the wall.

"You ever touch my sister again I will fucking kill you." He hissed before pulling back and connecting his knuckles with the teen's nose. He felt with satisfaction as the nose gave way under his hand, and the boy screamed as a loud 'pop' resonated through the hallway.

"Kenny!" Karen, who had fallen and was sitting on the top step, was staring at him with glassy eyes, a look of shock and horror written all over her face.

"It's time to go, now." He growled, hauling her up into his arms bridal style and descending down the stairs. As he reached the bottom the pirate guy was just getting on to his hands and knees, recovering from his tumble down the stairs. Kenny landed a swift kick to his ribs.

He didn't make eye contact with a single soul, but noticed the crowd had gotten significantly quieter, as he pushed his way to the door. Without a look back he slammed it behind them with his foot.

Karen jumped as the cold air made contact with her bare skin. Kenny clutched her to him, unsure if he wanted to hug her and thank God he had made it there when he did, or scream at her for ever being in that situation.

"Kenny, please, please put me down." She slurred in to his hoodie, clutching on to him desperately. "Shut up, Karen." He snapped back, his anger getting the best of him. They reached the dirt bike and he set her down. Immediately she stumbled, clutching on to the handlebars of the bike, her knees shaky. She leaned her ass against it and stared at her brother, fear in her eyes.

"What the fuck were you doing in there Karen?" he asked, arms crossed, blue eyes narrowed. She looked down at her feet.

"I just…I don't know…it sounded fun." She slurred with a hiccup. She giggled slightly, bringing her hand to her mouth.

"This is not funny, Karen!" he rounded on her, his nose inches from her. "Do you realize what was about to happen to you? Those guys were taking upstairs so they could fuck you. Is that what you wanted?!"

Her lower lip trembled as she cowered from him. "Kenny, please don't yell."

"No, you fucking deserve to be yelled at! You are fifteen years old, Karen! What are you doing dressing like a whore, getting shit faced, and making out with guys you probably don't even know?!"

The tears slipped from her eyes as she clutched the motorcycle, her whole body trembling.

"Kenny, please stop yelling." She pleaded. He knew she hated it when anyone yelled; side effect of a fucked-up childhood, but he was beyond caring. He was seeing red.

"No! You could have really been hurt, don't you see that?! You know what drinking does, why in the world would you ever even want to do it?!"

"I don't know…I don't." she moaned, putting her hands over her eyes. "I'm sorry, Kenny, I really am." She sobbed, knees beginning to buckle. "Please don't be mad."

"Oh I'm not mad, I'm fucking pissed." He growled. "After everything we've been through you are going to do something this stupid?"

Her hand was back over her mouth and he knew the second before it happened that she was going to be sick.

She barfed gloriously on his work boots.

He wanted to be mad; let her sit there on her knees on the cold concrete and heave her guts out until there was nothing left, shaking and shivering in the night air. He wanted her to remember just how fun it was to get drunk, so maybe she wouldn't do it again.

But that's not what big brothers do.

"Shit." He swore under his breath as he knelt down beside her, avoiding her mess, and pulled her long hair back. He rubbed circles on her bare back. "Get it all out, you'll feel better." He murmured softly, wrapping an arm around her as she started to shiver, her body still convulsing with the urge to rid itself of everything.

"Kenny, I don't feel good." She whimpered when it appeared she was finally done, leaning back into his body. He continued to rub her back, giving her a few moments.

"Yeah, you aren't going to feel so good." He said quietly, his anger dissipating. He shrugged off his hoodie and wrapped it around her, helping her get her arms into it. Gently, he helped her stand up off the ground and she immediately clutched herself onto him, her head resting against his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." She said softly. He sighed and pulled her in to a hug. "We will talk about this more tomorrow. We gotta get you home."

He pushed her away from him gently and looked at the bike, suddenly wishing he had brought his truck instead. He had really thought she would be stone sober.

"How do you feel?" He asked, eyeing her. She was still trembling and looked wretched and pale, his hoodie going almost to her knees. "Not so good." She groaned back, pulling the hoodie tighter around her.

"I don't trust you to hold on to me on the back like you normally do, if you pass out I won't be able to hold you on." He was thinking out loud, looking the bike over. An idea popped into his head.

"Can you get on it? Sit backwards." Karen stumbled to the bike, and with Kenny's help she got on, sitting with her ass on the gas tank, legs drawn up to avoid the hot exhaust. Her brother swung his leg over and positioned himself, before guided her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him and brought her legs up, crossing them behind his back. He smiled softly to himself, remembering how she used to barge into his room in the middle of the night, crying from whatever nightmare had plagued her, and wrapped herself around him like she was now. Some people would call them weird, but he didn't care. If it made her feel safe it was fine with him.

Kenny eased the bike out of the driveway and onto the street. His now bare arms stung as the cold night air hit him. He felt Karen shiver and bury her face in his neck, the wind whipping her hair around them. He took it slow, not wanting to make her sick again, and to his relief he felt her drift to sleep within minutes.

As the dirt bike turned into the driveway of their home, Kenny let out the breath he swore he had been holding since they left the party. He had been so nervous that he would drop Karen on the way home, but to his amazement she had stayed clutched to him, even in her sleep.

As carefully as he could, he removed them both from the bike, holding her bridal style again, and carried her in the house. He couldn't stop the little quirk of a smile that snuck onto his face at the sight of her. Her head rested against his arm, mouth slightly open, cat ears askew. She looked so damn young, like a little girl who had been playing with her mother's makeup, her heavy eyeliner and mascara giving her raccoon eyes from her crying. With a heavy sigh he opened the front door. She may look young, but apparently she was growing up so much faster than he was ready for.

Gently, he carried her up the stairs and into her room, setting her down on the bed. Kenny removed the heels and cat ears before tucking her in tightly, making sure she was on her side in case she got sick during the night. He knew he wouldn't sleep at all that night; he would be too scared of something happening to her while he slept. Running a tired hand through his hair, he left the room just long enough to retrieve his pillow and blanket.

The protective brother settled himself on the floor beside the bed, intent on keeping watch over her tonight, just in case. As he leaned up to turn off the light on her night stand, he paused to gently pull her bangs from her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, kid." He whispered, settling down for a restless night.

I love Kenny/Karen cute sibling moments! Had this stuck in my head and half finished on my computer for such a long time, and finally decided to put it up. Thinking of making this a two-shot; the next part being Karen waking up and dealing with the aftermath of her wild night of teenage debauchery. Any thoughts?

The song lyrics at the very beginning belong to the band Pantera, whose CD has not left my stereo in ages. I do not own any of the characters from South Park, I just borrowed them for my own enjoyment.