Cartman stood in his doorway dumbfounded.
What the fuck just happened?
Had Kyle just run away from one of their heated arguments? Impossible. But it was true. Kyle hadn't even slammed the door on his way out, meaning that the only sound ringing in Cartman's ears was Kyle's furious voice saying those final words before his exit.
"You know what? Fuck you. I can't believe I even thought about thanking you for bringing me here or apologizing for hurting your feelings earlier. Who am I kidding? You don't have any fucking feelings!"
But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that Cartman knew he had brought it upon himself. He had lied to Kyle again, which could only result in Kyle hating him even more. But hadn't that been Cartman's goal all along? In order to hide his own secret, Cartman needed Kyle to hate him. But that didn't mean he wanted Kyle to. Cartman was sure that by driving Kyle away he could save himself. However, like most of his plans, it seemed to be backfiring.
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When Kyle arrived at his own house, he tried his best to slip through the door and up the stairs to his room unseen. Apparently today just wasn't his lucky day. His mother was sitting on the living room couch and leapt to her feet as soon as Kyle set one foot through the door.
"Where have you been, young man? It's almost 4:30! You've got some explaining to do!"
Kyle sighed. Time to get creative. It seemed as if all he had done in the past week was lie to everyone he knew. He felt like he was taking a page from Cartman's book, which was not something he was particularly proud of.
"Sorry mom. I went to Kenny's house after school to help him with his math homework. I know I should have called, but I just forgot. It won't happen again."
To Kyle's relief, his mother seemed to be relatively satisfied with this story.
"Well I guess I don't have a problem with you helping your friends with their schoolwork since you are at the top of your class. But you better call next time! You had me worried sick. I was just about to call the police when you walked through the door."
Kyle's composure almost escaped him completely.
Damn Cartman for always being right! I can't believe she was actually going to report me missing when she could have just fucking called me on my cell phone! Then again, I wouldn't exactly have been able to answer. Ugh, fuck this.
"Uh yeah, I promise I'll call next time. I gotta go do my homework now."
Kyle left out the part where he hadn't been at school since lunch and didn't actually know what all of his homework was. He figured his best bet would be to call Stan since they had Geometry and US History together after lunch.
After the third ring, Stan finally picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Stan, it's me."
"Kyle! Where the hell were you today? Kenny said Cartman wasn't in class after lunch either. Did you guys go somewhere?"
"Um…"
It was too difficult for Kyle to lie anymore, especially to his best friend.
"Kyle? Are you there?"
I guess he's just going to end up finding out later anyway.
"Yeah. I kind of went to look for Cartman after he left the cafeteria."
"What? Why?"
Stan was utterly confused now. Why would Kyle give a damn where Cartman went?
"I just felt bad, okay? I know it's weird, but I felt like it was my fault."
"You mean you think it was about the whole ignoring him thing?"
"Yeah, something like that. I found him in the abandoned boys' bathroom. But the smell was so bad that I passed out."
Kyle figured it wasn't technically lying if he only left out some of the more awkward details.
"Jesus! I can't believe you went in there, that place is fucking sick. But if you passed out there, how did you get home?"
Shit. I forgot about that part.
But what was there left for Kyle to say, other than the truth?
"Cartman sort of… brought me to his house."
Stan tried to conceal his shock, but was rather unsuccessful.
"How?"
"Apparently he hitched a ride with some random guy."
Still holding the phone to his ear, Stan pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
"Now that sounds like Cartman."
The two boys couldn't help but laugh a little at the truth in this statement.
Then Kyle suddenly remembered why he had actually called.
"Um since I left and all, would you mind telling me our Geometry and History homework?"
"Sure. For Geometry we have to finish all the problems on page 166 in the book and the History homework is to study for the test."
"Oh right. The test. I almost forgot about that. I guess I better go study then. Thanks, Stan."
"Don't worry about it. And Kyle?"
"Yeah?"
"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Kyle was silent for a moment. He didn't want to have that conversation right now. He found himself being thankful that he could use the test as an excuse.
"Yeah, I know. I seriously have to go now, though. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, see you."
Stan knew Kyle was trying to avoid talking about whatever had been bothering him for the past few weeks. It was pretty obvious. But Stan didn't really see what he could do about it right now, so he figured he might as well study too.
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After Kyle hung up with Stan, he found that his anger was slowly morphing into guilt. Not only for avoiding Stan, but also for the things he had said to Cartman only about an hour ago.
Maybe I was little harsh… Cartman was only trying to help me, in his own way. I should've at least controlled my temper a bit better.
Kyle wanted to run back, he really did. He wanted to knock on Cartman's door, hug him, and thank him for saving his life. But he couldn't. Because even if it had been Kyle who ran away this time, there was a part of him that had been hoping, wishing that Cartman would chase after him, try to stop him. The fact that Cartman had just stood there only confirmed everything that Kyle didn't want to believe.
He still hates me. But why am I so surprised? The fact that he saved my life doesn't mean a fucking thing. It was one time, for crying out loud. The only reason he did it was to save his own ass anyway.
Kyle tilted his head back, willing the tears to fall into his eyes rather than down his face. How many times had he cried because of Cartman in the sixteen years of their existence? Kyle decided it was more than one too many.
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Cartman broke his window again. This seemed to happen every time he was angry. He would throw things all around his room and something would always end up hitting the window. It didn't really bother him that much, though. It wasn't as if he would be paying for it. Besides, he was used to the cold.
What bothered him was why he was angry. How much anger had he wasted on that stupid Jew since they met? Cartman knew it was far too much to add up. Kyle had no right to treat him that way. He had no right to glare at him with those beautiful green eyes and—
What the FUCK?! No, I hate his eyes! I HATE them. GODDAMMIT!
Cartman's fist smashed into the wall, causing little flakes of plaster to rain down onto the carpet.
For some reason, this gave him immediate relief.
But just as Cartman was finally calming down, his gaze fell on his bedroom door, still slightly ajar from when he had started to chase after Kyle before deciding against it. What was the point? Kyle wouldn't have stopped.
But I could've made him. I could've kicked his ass like he deserved. I could've grabbed him and pushed him to the ground and—
Cartman's lamp smashed through the other half of the window.