Work Text:
Kyle's POV
It was summer break in South Park. Clyde's dad had thrown his annual summer break party with his girlfriend Lisa. Everyone was invited as usual. The dad's were outside on the grill drinking beer and making bad jokes half drunk, while the mom's were by the pool gossiping and complaining to each other. The kids were in the pool along with the teenagers laughing and dancing to the music.
The one thing that stuck out to me was a person was missing.
Cartman.
I really didn't know if it was a bad or good thing honestly. We didn't hate each other anymore but I couldn't say we were friends. I leaned back in my chair and mixed my lemonade with my straw.
Liane was here chatting with the mom's but no Eric. I was getting annoyed that this bothered me.
" Dude why are you sitting here all by yourself?! "
Said Stan walking up to the table dripping wet with Kenny.
" Yeah didn't you hear the Bebe was looking for you?! "
Said Kenny wiggling his eyebrows. I shrugged looking up at them.
" Have any of you seen Cartman? "
I asked. They both furred their eyebrows in confusion.
" No... Why? I thought he was here. "
Said Kenny looking around. I shook my head.
" No, I haven't seen him all day but his mom is here. "
They looked at me again strangely.
" He's probably sick, come on and get in the pool with us! I'm sure Bebe would appreciate it. "
Kenny said walking away with Stan. As much as I wanted to get in and have fun I couldn't with this nagging feeling in me. Cartman just doesn't get sick. He was once sick with the flu to the point where he lost 15 pounds,dehydrated to the point of being hospitalized,had a 105.8 fever,and could barely walk or keep conscious but went to school because we were having a famous surprise guest speaker at school for assembly. He made it 5/8 hours of school before he had to be rushed to the hospital but he made it to the assembly.
Cartman has changed over the years though. He lost a lot of his weight and now looked like a normal teenager standing at 6'2 and weighing 190 lbs. He played lacrosse and football making the extra weight stay off and giving him some muscle. He kind of looked good with his chest nut hair and ice blue eyes.
I shook my head chasing those thoughts away. Getting up I decided to go investigate. I told my mom I wasn't feeling to good and was heading home.
After getting pestered with questions and getting the keys to the house I pretended to walk home but actually headed to Cartman's house. I was going to find out what was going on.
After a 10 minuet walk to his house I stopped outside to see if anything was out of the ordinary.
'Nothing...'
I thought going to the front door. I knocked knowing that the doorbell was broken from the time in 8th grade where Kenny through a baseball at it.
I waited a few but got no answer. Looking around to see if anyone was outside I twisted the knob to the door and to my surprise it opened.
' Cartman is going to murder me if he's home... '
I thought walking inside slowly. Nothing was out of order. The house still had it's usual cinnamon smell with a hint of cat that Liane tried to cover up with candles and baking. I walked up the stair quietly and looked around. Nothing was out of order though. The blinds were opening letting light fill the house and everything was neatly placed where it should belong.
I walked down the hallway and that's when I heard shuffling from Cartman's room. Quickly and quietly I walked over to his door. I pressed my ear to the door and listened when I heard some muttering. I couldn't make it all out though.
" Not..... Fair...Kitty.......Dead........Bitch.......Party.......Dad.......No........Love....."
Was all I could make out of his string of curses. He also sounded like he was crying so that didn't help. I shook my head though.
' Cartman crying! '
I thought. Cartman hasn't cried since fourth grade,hell he didn't even cry when he killed his own dad! Taking a deep breath I held the door knob in my hand.
' Just a peek then you'll leave Kyle... '
I slowly opened Cartman's door a crack and peeked in. One thing about Cartman that I liked was that he kept his stuff neat. Even as a kid he always said it was easier to plot if you knew where everything is, but the room I looked at now was a mess.
His desk was on it's side causing everything that was on top of it to fall to the floor creating a mess. Items were scattered around his room and half of them seemed broken. Cartman laid in a pile of sheet and blankets in front of his bed with his head in his lap and body shaking.
Wide eyed I went to close the door quickly when it creaked quiet loudly.
'Shit....'
I thought backing away from the door. Cartman has always been unpredictable and unstable, but when he has an emotion involved like anger or sadness you never know what he can and will do.
It didn't take long for his thundering footsteps to reach the door and for it to go flying open. I could see his cheeks were still damp from where he wiped his tears and his face was slightly pink.
He took one look at me before I saw the anger explode in his eyes.
" What.The.Fuck.Are.You.Doing.Here.You.God.Damn.Jew....."
With every word he inched forward making me step back. It was only 12 o'clock and the party was only an hour in. It usually ended around 4 or 5 depending how drunk the parents got but this gave Cartman the perfect amount of time to kill and hide my body.
" I won't ask you again. "
He said. By now my back was almost touching the wall. I admit that I was scared but I wouldn't let him see, that would only boost his sadistic ego.
" I was just checking up on you asshole. Why aren't you at the party? "
I questioned. He only glared at me.
" Get out. "
He said walking to his room. I rolled my eyes and stopped the door from slamming with my foot.
" Look asshole obviously i'm the only one who cared- "
I got stopped there because that was obviously the wrong thing to say. Cartman threw his lamp at the wall right beside me.
" Get the fuck out of my house Kahl! "
He said flopping on his bed. That's when I noticed all his cats thing were gone. A while back Liane got tired of the cat smell in her living room so she moved all of it's things to Cartman's room. Not that he mind he loved the thing.
" What happened Mr.Kitty's things? "
I asked walking around the room. His body tensed and I saw him shaking slightly.
" Just leave.... "
He said obviously trying to cover up that he was crying. I felt bad for him instantly. Cartman has always been a baby. He might like acting tuff and calling the shots but inside he was a big baby.
I rolled my eyes and walked around the room. Everything the cat had was gone. It dawned on me what had happened then.
" Oh... Eric.... "
I said walking up to his bed. His body was shaking and he was trying to keep the sounds in. I slowly sat down by him and gently placed my hand on his shoulder. He just cried harder.
" Look... I know we aren't that great of friends but I'm here for you, you know... "
I said. By now he had stopped crying and his sobbing was reduced to small sniffles. He rolled over from his stomach onto his side facing away from me. I kept a comforting hand on his shoulder though. I caught a peek of his flushed tear stained face and blushed.
' Kyle! What the hell e's crying stop being such a weird pervert! '
I said mentally.
" Are you ever going to go? "
Eric said after a few minuets of silence. I shook my head and said
" No Eric. No matter how much crap we did to each other or how much we hated each other you are my friend. Friends help and comfort each other. "
Eric turned around and looked into my eyes deeply. I couldn't help but blush and get lost in his cold blue eyes. I turned away from him still blushing.
" You're too nice for your own good. "
He said turning my head. Before I could ask what he was doing he placed a kiss on my lips. If I was red then I must have been the color of a firetruck now. Strangely it didn't feel bad or weird. It felt nice. He pulled back and smiled. Not a fake or bitter smile a true and rare genuine smile that made my heart flutter.
" Thank you. "
He said. I cleared my throat getting over the shock.
" For what? "
I asked.
" For caring... "
He said laying back down and stared up at the ceiling. I smiled and grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
For once with Eric, It was clear now.