Hate – 10

For the rest of the week, it was as if the conversation online had never happened. Cartman acted the same around him as usual, and their bickering was pretty lighthearted. However, Kyle felt his stomach twist occasionally when he met Cartman's eyes with his own.

He wasn't really sure why he was feeling this way, and he wasn't sure how much of it he was making up in his own head. They had been enemies for so long that Kyle found it difficult imagining even the possibility that Cartman was taking an interest in him. However, he couldn't help feeling a little excited when Friday rolled around.

The school day dragged on for an entirety, but the afternoon wasn't that much better. He tried to do his homework to distract himself, but it didn't work.

Close to the start time of the party, he wandered into the bathroom. He checked himself out in the mirror, and nervously took off his hat. His red curls fell around his face messily. Kyle always wore his hat, and that was mostly due to Cartman's teasing when they were little. He didn't want to deal with Cartman's pointing and laughing, so he just continued to wear it. However, he had cut what Cartman referred to as his "Jew-fro" sometime in middle school, and he should have just ditched the hat.

He took a deep breath. He wondered if he was going to crash at Cartman's that night. Otherwise, he wasn't sure what he was going to do. There was no way he was going to sneak back into his own house. He had told his mother that he was going to go to Stan's for the night, and he didn't want to risk the chance of being caught in the lie.

He ran down the stairs, calling a hasty "bye!" in the direction of the living room as he quickly exited the house. As he started the trek to Cartman's house, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He was excited but nervous at the same time. He had never felt this way when going to a party, let alone Cartman's house. He licked his lips, shivering slightly from the cold.

The walk was brief, but that was probably due to the fact that Kyle was walking rather quickly. When he arrived at Cartman's, he could hear the music from outside the house. He quickly hopped up the step on the porch and rang to doorbell. A few seconds went by before Cartman opened the door.

"Hey, Jew."

"Fatass."

Cartman stepped to the side to let Kyle in. He quickly stepped into the warm house, rubbing his gloved hands together.

"Shit, it's cold out tonight."

"Yeah, it's only going to get worse."

Kyle slowly took off his jacket, looking around. The vibe of the party was completely different from Token's. It was just some people from their class that Cartman got along with, but there were still at least ten people over. He didn't see Stan or Kenny, but he saw other people that he knew from class.

"Where's Stan and Kenny?"

"Oh, those guys are assholes and didn't bother showing up. Kenny is out with some tramp, and Stan's probably going down on Wendy as we speak."

Kyle wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

"Exactly."

Cartman wandered off toward the kitchen as Kyle was greeted by Jimmy and Clyde. Kyle chatted with them idly, looking around to see who had all shown up. He wasn't that surprised when he realized that there were no girls at the party. The girls at school all hated Cartman, so it was no wonder they didn't show up.

Cartman came back holding a drink. He shoved it at Kyle. "Here, drink this."

Kyle sniffed it, frowning. "What is this?"

"Jack and coke."

When Kyle made a face, Cartman rolled his eyes.

"Just drink it, Jew, it's good for you. Besides, you drank it at last week's party."

"Yeah, but I was so wasted I could barely tell what it was."

Sighing, Kyle took a sip. It wasn't that bad, but he didn't really enjoy the whiskey aftertaste. He continued to sip it slowly, not wanting to get drunk like he had last time.

-.-.-.-.-.

"Time to go, Token. Get out," Cartman ordered. "I'm tired, go home."

Token laughed. "You're always so polite, Cartman."

"Everyone's gotta go. Off you go."

Token laughed as he was shooed out by Cartman. Kyle smirked, watching Cartman try to get rid of everyone. He struggled to get rid of Craig, who begged him to let him stay the night. He slammed the door in his face, locking the door.

"Finally! I thought that douche bag would never leave."

"I thought you were friends with him."

Cartman shrugged, glancing back at Kyle. "Let's go to bed."

Cartman started ascending the stairs. It was late, and Kyle had to admit that he was tired. He only had the one drink, watching as everyone else got completely trashed. He hadn't seen Cartman drink anything.

"You don't mind me staying?" Kyle asked, following Cartman.

"Well, I know how bitchy your mom can get," Cartman grunted, entering his room.

"You didn't let Craig stay."

"Craig's a douche."

Kyle laughed. "Yeah, I don't really like him much…"

"That's because he called you a pussy."

"True."

Kyle briefly wondered where he was going to sleep.

"So… where is your mom?"

"Working. She'll be out all night."

"Oh."

"Here." Cartman tossed a t-shirt at Kyle. Kyle caught it clumsily, almost dropping it on the floor.

"You can sleep in that," Cartman explained. "I'll be right back."

Cartman wandered out of the room, and Kyle heard the bathroom door close. He took off his shirt, slipping into the one Cartman provided. It was pretty big on him. He stripped off his jeans and socks, so that he was just wearing the shirt and boxers. He felt uncomfortable standing there in his underwear, and wondered if he should climb into Cartman's bed. Stan and he still shared beds when they slept over at each other's houses, but that was something he only did with Stan and never anyone else. Plus, it was never awkward.

Well, he thought, where else am I going to sleep? He quickly climbed into Cartman's bed, shivering a bit. As he burrowed under the covers, Cartman came back in. He laughed when he saw Kyle.

"You just can't wait to get into bed with me."

"It's cold out there!"

Cartman shook his head, turning off the lights. Kyle could hear him take off his pants, and felt the bed sink a bit when he got into bed with him. Kyle curled up on his side, still cold but slowly warming up.

There was a pause of silence before Cartman asked, "Are you shivering?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure I'll stop soon. This happens sometimes when it's really cold outside and when I first climb into bed."

"Shit, you need to eat more."

Kyle didn't respond, so they fell into silence again. A few minutes passed.

"So, uh… I had fun tonight…" Kyle offered.

"That's good. Did you see Craig almost break my TV? Stupid dumbass."

"Oh, was that what you were shouting about earlier?"

"Yeah. He was fucking around with my wii and threw the damn wiimote at the screen."

"Shit."

"Luckily it hit the side of the TV, so it didn't break. God, I would have KILLED him if he broke it."

"Remind me to never have a drinking party at my place."

"You're mom would never allow it."

"True. She'd kill me if she even knew I was GOING to these parties."

Cartman snorted. "What is she going to do when you go off to college? She won't be able to control you anymore."

Kyle shrugged. "I don't know. It's not THAT bad…"

"Please! She monitors what you do all the time, and don't even try to deny it."

Kyle opened his mouth to argue, but closed it immediately. Cartman was right. She had to know exactly what Kyle was doing at all hours of the day. The only reason he was able to hang out with his friends so much was because he had gotten good at lying to her. And although he didn't have to do it as much in the past couple of years, it had come back to him easily. The thought of actually telling her the truth that he was going to Stan's to play video games or hang with the group to goof off was ridiculous. She would never allow it. And even if she did, she would nag Kyle incessantly about doing his homework and studying so that he could get into a good university.

"Good point," he finally offered.

Cartman snorted. "Your mom's a bitch."

Kyle chuckled softly. "Yeah… she kind of is."

"Glad you can finally admit it."

"Shut up. I see you wore your cologne."

"Told you I would."

Kyle snorted, smiling softly.

"I see you didn't wear your hat."

Kyle felt his cheeks warm slightly. "Well, you said I'd never get laid wearing it."

"Yeah. Already the potential of you getting laid has doubled." Cartman cleared his throat. "Too bad Stan wasn't here… he might had jumped you."

"We're not like that, remember? Besides, Stan is the straightest person I know. Kenny is the one I'm worried about."

"I think he's just fucking with you. I can't imagine Kenny sleeping with another guy."

"That's what I think too, but it's still weird."

"Why? Because you like it?"

Kyle thought about that for a moment. He did enjoy dancing with both Kenny and Cartman at the party, and Kenny's flirtatious advances, although not entirely welcome, were definitely flattering.

"Well… I don't know if I necessarily LIKE it, but… it IS kind of flattering."

"What, that he's flirting with you?"

"Yeah. I'm… not used to that."

Cartman snorted. "The girls at school flirt with you all the time."

"I guess, but… I don't know. It's different having a guy do it."

"It's more up your alley."

Kyle laughed. "Yeah, it is."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Kyle snuggled up under the covers, his back towards Cartman. Cartman's bed, along with the shirt that he lent him, smelled nice, and he closed his eyes.

"Thanks for letting me stay," he mumbled sleepily into the pillow.

"It's no big deal. Night, Jew. Don't try to kill me in my sleep."

"Hmm…" Kyle smiled. "Night. Don't roll on top of me and crush me to death, Fatass."

With that, both boys quickly fell into a peaceful slumber.

-.-.-.-.-.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So this chapter was very difficult to write. I wrote it completely different the first time, but I thought that I was pushing things too quickly, plus I wasn't happy with the direction it was going in. So, after a few feeble attempts at fixing what I had written, I chose to rewrite it. I feel that this version is ten times better, and I hope that it was ok for everyone.

10 chapters. Can you believe it? I really can't. Considering I have never gotten into this whole fanfiction thing, I'm feeling pretty good. :D Honestly, I couldn't have done it without all of my lovely reviewers. You give me the confidence and courage to post my silly stories on the internet for your entertainment. Thank you a million times over. It really brings a smile to my face when I see that another person has reviewed my latest chapter. Thanks, all!