AN: Trying to get back into the SP writing spirit. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think?
Kyle Broflosky is used to his apartment door being knocked on at all hours of the night. Usually it's Stan, drunk and confused, needing a ride to his own apartment. Or it's Cartman trying to play ding dong ditch, but not making it very far down the hall before Kyle can open the door. More recently it's Kenny, apologizing profusely for forgetting his key.
So when he hears a single knock at the door before midnight he has mixed emotions. On one hand he finds it a little early for the guys to come drunkenly knocking at his door. On the other he's hopeful that he might get a full night's sleep on a Saturday night for once.
Kyle's Saturday night is his only night to himself. Ever since Kenny moved in it's been hard to get anything done that Kyle usually had plenty of time for during the week. At first Kenny would beg Kyle to go to parties. He even went to a few of Cartman's, but Kyle soon found out parties are not his scene. Too many people with too little inhibitions.
After a while the invitations stopped coming and that's just fine with Kyle.
He still has fun.
He does.
"Don't you think it's a little early to be this drunk, Stan." Kyle guesses it's Stan. Evidence is simple; Stan is a lightweight.
Kenny told him he'd be out late, if not all night. And he caught wind of Cartman throwing a party of his own.
"I always new Marsh was an alcoholic."
"Craig? What are you doing here?"
Craig has become a regular guest at Kyle's apartment. Well, really just the doorway of Kyle's apartment. Kenny makes it a point to never let Craig in. He's not sure if it's for his own benefit or Kyle's. He'll hear Craig's voice and hear Kenny wish him a nice night, then the door close.
From what he hears from Kenny, Craig has really pulled his act together since elementary school. Not the little troublemaker he was known for. Why was he known as a troublemaker anyway?
"Is Kenny here." Craig nudges the door open. He waltzes in and walks down the hall towards Kenny's room.
"No, he's not." Kyle isn't sure how Craig knows his way around their apartment so well, "he's not with you?"
"Said he'd be at Cartman's, but he's not."
"I thought he said Clyde was throwing a party."
"He also mentioned Marsh having a get together. Why aren't you there." Craig opens Kyle's door for a quick peak. Before Kyle has a chance to raise his voice Craig ducks back out into the hallway.
As Craig passes Kyle in the hall the red head can't help but notice how much taller Craig has grown. And how nice the taller boy smells. And how good he looks in a dark wash.
"I don't go to parties."
"Why."
"Because I have better things to do."
"Like."
"Like..." Kyle watches Craig dial a number on his phone.
"Puzzles." Craig points to the half finished puzzle on the coffee table.
"So..." Kyle silently curses himself for letting Craig roam the apartment. "You have something against puzzles?"
"No." Craig sits down in Kyle's puzzle spot, throwing his phone on the coffee table. "You know, I work on these when you're not here." Craig pulls some pieces Kyle had pushed aside and starts putting them together as if they were telling Craig where they belong. "I got you started on the waterfall two puzzles ago."
"Wait..." Kyle tries to think back to the puzzle Craig is talking about. "The rain forest puzzle?"
"Yep." Craig stands once he has Kyle started on an big oak tree, "so let's go."
"Let's go? What do you mean?"
Craig stands and dusts off his pants, "let's go find Kenny."
"Dude, why do I have to go?"
"Two pairs of eyes are better than one. Proof," Craig points to Kyle's puzzle.
"I'm not really dressed to go out, though," Kyle mutters at his clothes.
Craig walks into Kyle's room, taking advantage of Kyle being too immersed in his outfit.
"I guess if I could see if my nice jeans are dry, I was washing my jeans. Well drying I guess at this point in the night. It's a part of my Saturday night routine. See, I start off by taking count of- wait are you in my room?"
By the time Kyle realizes Craig is in his room he's met with a pair of Kenny's jeans and an old sweater he specifically remembers pushing to the back of his closet.
"You don't want to go out in your nice jeans. Take a pair of Kenny's."
Kyle thinks about the last time he went to a party. He remembers having the worst head ache the day after. Not because of the alcohol, but because he ended up taking care of Stan and Kenny the whole night. Never again.
But now Craig is sitting in front of his puzzle making better progress than he's made in the past three Saturdays. He's holding an outfit he would never choose on his own with an invitation to a night he'd never thought would sound enticing.
But looking at the company for the night consider Kyle enticed.
"So you think Kenny could be at Cartman's party by now?"
"It's a good place to start."