As always, thank you to everyone for reading! Thanks for the kudos, follows, and favorites. A special thank you to everyone who took the additional step and left comments or reviews.
Thank you to fallingwthstyle my Super Beta Hero who singlehandedly worked out all the issues I was having on this chapter, gave me some great ideas, and got me unstuck. Thanks for making this chapter 1000 times better! What would I do without you?
I also want to give special hugs to everyone at AO3 who helped me to hit over 100 Kudos with this story. I'd toss some confetti, but it's a bitch to clean up, so I'll just say thanks everyone!
***Enjoy***
Chapter 14: Whoops!
#######
Cupid Me is antsy; with cigarette in hand, he flies back and forth from one end of his small office to the other. Reaching the other side he stops for just long enough to take a deep puff of nicotine, before turning around and flying back to the other side, and taking another puff.
"I can't stand this, I must know more!" he spits out suddenly, stopping mid-flight; he turns towards his surveillance console and peeks at his cameras which are all currently focused on the front gates of the Black Estate.
Earlier the parade of teens entering the estate was non-stop, but now traffic into Token's house has slowed. As Cupid Me stares into the monitor Ryan Ellis and Filmore Anderson show up on skateboards, bringing a faint smile to the little cupid's frustrated face.
"Teehee, those two are rather interesting aren't they, such a nice friendship. I hate to admit it, but sometimes friendship can be much better than love... Perhaps I need one of those-" Suddenly stopping mid-sentence the cupid's smile fades, "But who is going to want to be friends with a loser like me?"
On the screen in front of him, Ryan and Filmore walk up the stairs, but before they enter the house Filmore says something to Ryan causing the older boy to grin big and aim a friendly punch at the younger boy's shoulder. Both boys are laughing as they disappear into the large house.
Cupid Me reaches a decision, "Nothing is going to change if I keep floating around here feeling sorry for myself. I might be a bit out of practice, but that house is filled with opportunity, it's about time to get back to work!"
Floating down to his ashtray, he stubs out his cigarette, and then he picks up his small quiver and stuffs it full of arrows. Slinging it over his shoulder he picks up his bow and flies out of the office.
####
In an attempt to ignore the irritating blond at his side, Thomas stares across the pool at the crowd of people milling around the barbeque. That side of the backyard looks unpleasantly crowded, and Thomas doesn't see Kyle anywhere, so perhaps he was successful in rescuing Stan from Kitchen duty.
Over at the picnic table, Kyle's brother, Ike, whispers into his non-boyfriend's ear, and when the pretty boy smiles his whole face lights up, and Thomas unintentionally smiles too. When Ike places a quick kiss on the boy's lips, apparently not caring who might see, he confirms what Thomas suspected all along. Kyle is in for a big surprise.
With a sigh, Thomas returns his attention to Kenny, who was apparently watching him this whole time, but instead of his normal smart ass grin, right now he is wearing a very gentle smile that makes Thomas' heart speed up just a tiny bit. For a brief moment Kenny stares pointedly into Thomas' eyes, and then the annoying grin returns.
"Are you hungry?" Kenny asks, while standing up and offering Thomas his hand.
"I'm not," Thomas starts to say, however since he'd felt too uncomfortable to finish his earlier meal, his stomach disagrees and growls noisily causing Kenny to chuckle.
Feeling a little foolish, Thomas pulls his feet from the pool and quickly uses the towel Kyle left behind to dry them off, before slipping into his sneakers, pulling on his T-shirt, and standing up, ignoring Kenny's hand.
"Come on," Kenny says, and grabs him by the hand anyway. Against his will Thomas is pulled into the house through a side door, and led to a large kitchen which is only slightly less crowded than the rest of the first floor.
The kitchen counters are packed high with various types of foods, and everything looks and smells delicious. Thomas' stomach speaks up again, causing Kenny to snicker quietly as he picks up an empty red plastic plate, and hands it to Thomas, before grabbing another for himself.
"You're not a vegetarian?" Kenny asks, and when Thomas shakes his head he smiles and plops a thick piece of meat on Thomas' plate.
"You were eating tofu earlier, so I thought I better ask." Kenny grins and starts filling his own plate.
"Stan's an excellent cook, but he makes everything medium well, so I hope that's cool for you." Kenny holds out a scoop of potato salad, which Thomas stares at for a moment, before nodding.
"Corn," Kenny gestures to a plate of corn on the cob, smothered in butter and spices, but Thomas shakes his head, and grabs himself a scoop of coleslaw instead.
"This is good," Thomas decides, but Kenny smiles and places a vegetable skewer on Thomas' plate.
"You need a balanced diet," Kenny insists, as he picks up a plate of garlic bread, and offers it to Thomas.
"No thanks," Thomas declines, but Kenny pops a piece on his plate anyway.
"Dude, Clyde can't cook for shit, but his garlic bread is amazing, and since I'm eating some you need to have some too, otherwise when I kiss you later you'll notice my garlic breath," Kenny tells him while placing two pieces on his own plate.
"You will not be kissing me later." Thomas glowers at him.
"We'll see about that," Kenny says cockily, and flashes that stupid grin again.
'This guy's such an idiot! He can't possibly know that I'm Damien's lover, or he wouldn't be hitting on me so hard, right?' Deciding this must be the case, Thomas tosses his fake grin back on his face, and decides to at least try to enjoy this mouth-watering meal.
Kenny reaches into a huge refrigerator.
"Are you cool with more beer, or would you rather have something else?"
"Beer is fine," Thomas decides, and Kenny pulls out two bottles, picks up his plate, and gestures at Thomas. "Grab some napkins and silverware and follow me, it's too crowded in here."
Kenny leads Thomas through the house to the entrance hall. The stairway is roped off, with a sign that says 'No Entry', but Kenny ignores this. He sits the beers down so he can pull open the rope, and gestures Thomas past, before replacing it, grabbing the beers again, and moving up the stairs.
"Only Token's closest friends are allowed upstairs," Kenny explains, so Thomas assumes that makes Kenny one of those friends.
To Thomas' surprise, the second floor hallway is deserted. There are three doors to the right, and four to the left, and all seven are currently closed.
Kenny juggles his plate and the beers, so he can turn the knob on one of the doors, and it pushes open. He enters the room, but Thomas holds back when he notices the room is a bedroom.
"This is someone's bedroom," Thomas points out uneasily, he's doesn't like the idea of traipsing through someone's private rooms, nor does he like the idea of being alone in a bedroom with Damien's ex.
"This is actually a guest room, the family bedrooms are further down the hall. There are also a few guest rooms downstairs, but those are probably all full by now," Kenny explains, but that doesn't change the fact that this is still a bedroom. "Dude, I'm not trying to get you into bed, at least not yet, the upstairs patio is this way." Kenny grins and cocks his head toward the sliding glass door in the back of the room.
"You're never getting me into bed." Thomas shakes his head.
"We'll see about that." Kenny chuckles.
'Seriously, what the fuck did Damien see in this idiot?'
Kenny escorts Thomas to a modest outdoor patio with a small dining table, a few lounge chairs, and a ton of plants.
After Kenny sits down at one end of the table Thomas takes a seat at the other end, as far away as possible, which still isn't far since the table is pretty small. Popping open one of the bottles of beers, Kenny slides it across to Thomas.
"Thanks," Thomas mumbles, and starts to eat.
"My pleasure," Kenny tells him, before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a lighter, and standing up to light the small candle that sits in the middle of the table. He then sneakily picks up his plate, and reseats himself right next to Thomas. Thomas rolls his eyes, but keeps chewing. He is actually feeling a lot more relaxed now, and being away from the crowd means less chance of running into Craig, which is certainly a plus.
Biting into his piece of garlic bread, Thomas is annoyed to discover that Kenny is right. The whole meal is very tasty, but the bread is actually the best part, it has a light dusting of parmesan cheese, and is seasoned and cooked perfectly. After finishing off his own slice, he casually reaches across the table to steal Kenny's second piece.
"I told you." Kenny looks at him happily, and Thomas shoves a forkful of food into his mouth to keep himself from smiling at the foolish blond.
#######################
"This is not good." Cupid Me decides as he floats through Token's front door and surveys the huge crowd.
It has been a long time since he's been in such a large group of people, and although he can easily fly above the crowd, the air simply reeks from the stench of so many horny teenaged party goers, all of them desperate for love.
"I didn't bring nearly enough arrows." Cupid Me sighs, as he searches the room trying to decide where to start.
"Oh crap! I should have known that 'he' would be here!" Cupid Me grumbles as he spots Butters drunkenly stumble past, crawl under the rope at the bottom of the stairs, and head up to the second floor, still crawling on all fours, because the boy is simply too drunk to find his way back to his feet.
Cupid Me doesn't like Butters, the little blond has a one-sided crush on Eric, which makes Butters his rival in love. Suddenly hit by a moment of pure inspiration, Cupid Me hurries after Butters.
"Teeheehee, Teehee, you'll never get one of my magic arrows of love, but I'm still going to pee in your mouth, you little bastard!"
########################
Kenny doesn't speak much during their meal, but his blue eyes continue to observe Thomas unrelentingly. Thomas keeps his eyes focused on his food, which is too good not to finish, but once his plate is empty he decides he's had enough. Pushing his plate away, he wipes his lips with a napkin, and stands up, deciding it's time for him to say goodbye to Kyle and head home. His phone is turned off, because he's avoiding Damien's calls, but he is certain that Damien will be home by now, and Thomas would like to avoid more punishment if he can help it.
"You're not thinking of leaving are you?" Kenny reads his mind, and grabs ahold of his wrist lightly. "You haven't even had dessert yet, stay a little longer."
"Dessert?" Thomas grumbles, ready to knock him on his ass at even the hint of a cheesy comment.
"What do you like?" Kenny asks while standing up. Instead of letting go of Thomas' wrist he grabs on tighter. "The Black family has a sweet tooth, and a pantry that's the size of the house I grew up in. I kid you not, you name it, they probably have it."
"I'm fine." Thomas steps back, but Kenny follows, his eyes locked on to Thomas' face. Thomas peers back, finding it difficult to look away. Kenny's eyes are an unusual color of blue and his tanned face is nearly flawless, except for a small thin scar that runs across one eyebrow. Thomas starts to reach out, wanting to touch that single imperfection, but he catches himself and pulls his hand away.
'This is Damien's ex!' Thomas reminds himself. 'He's the same asshole who sent you that filthy fucking photo!'
Kenny is undeniably attractive, but what does Damien see in him? Damien likes blonds, but he's only attracted to guys with problems, but Kenny is so laid back, like he doesn't have a care in the world. Was it simply his looks, or does Kenny have a dirty dark secret? Perhaps something that Thomas can exploit?
This time, when Kenny moves closer, Thomas doesn't step back, instead he allows him to lean in, Thomas shivers as Kenny brushes his lips against his ear seductively.
"Honey Jalapeño Pickle Ice Cream," Kenny whispers, then pulls back and resumes staring at Thomas with a look of curiosity.
"What?" Thomas asks, and purses his lips to keep from laughing out loud.
"Honey Jalapeño Pickle Ice Cream," Kenny repeats. "Have you tried it?"
"You're making that up," Thomas accuses.
"Am I?" Kenny wonders, and Thomas is certain that he is.
"It sounds disgusting."
"It's not, I assure you. There's some in the freezer, you're going to love it." Letting go of Thomas' wrist, Kenny collects their empty dishes, and deposits them in a wastebasket.
"Oh, I don't suppose you like video games?" Kenny asks as he leans over the table to blow out the candle.
"Doesn't everyone?" Thomas asks, since even Damien likes to play a video game every now and then.
"Good answer, come with me, you're going to love this." Kenny requests, and although Thomas is thinking that he really should leave soon, he still gets up and follows Kenny back through the bedroom to the hall.
'This is all about getting dirt on Kenny McCormick!' Thomas reminds himself.
######
Cupid Me has a large grin on his face as he exits the bathroom. Butters is inside, passed out on the floor in front of the toilet. Not only did Cupid Me pee in his mouth, he also left the blond with two handfuls of Cupid Me's special fudgy charms of sunshine.
"Serves you right, you little home wrecker! Teehee Teeheehee." Cupid Me giggles, as he heads up the hall, but he stops when the door in front of him opens up and Kenny and Thomas step out.
Forgetting all about Butters, Cupid Me watches Kenny lead a sour faced Thomas down the hall to another room. Although Kenny is obviously enamored, Thomas seems totally uninterested.
"Oh my, it's a good thing I showed up. Teeheehee, Thomas just needs a little spark of magic!" Cupid Me decides, pulling out an arrow he flies down the hall.
#######
Kenny stops in front of a door right next to the staircase, pushes it open and steps inside.
"Token has a fucking awesome game collection, you can pick something out for us to play while I get the ice cream." Thomas follows Kenny into a room containing a large sectional couch, an expensive leather Zoe lounge chair, a huge flat screen TV, several video games systems, and an entire wall full of bookcases filled with games. Kenny is right, the room is pretty much a gamer's wet dream.
The room is empty except for the two teens on the couch. One, a very thin blond, is laying on the couch with his eyes closed, and his head on the other boy's lap. The other, has thick dark hair, dazzling blue eyes, and his fingers wrapped in the blond boy's messy hair.
"Hey, Craig, I hope we're not disturbing you two," Kenny says quietly, "It's a little crazy down there, so we thought we'd hang out up here; fucking Clyde must have invited half the town."
The blond opens his eyes, and smiles softly, "Oh, hi Kenny."
"Hey, Tweek. Did we wake you?"
"Gah- Nah, I wasn't actually sleeping, I had a headache, but I'm feeling a little better now, and-" Tweek stops talking the moment his eyes fall on Thomas. The smile drops from his lips, replaced by something much less friendly, but Thomas barely notices Tweek, because his eyes are locked upon Craig Tucker.
Thomas' heart drops into his stomach, and his knees start to shake. This is definitely Craig Tucker, and holy fuck does he look good!
Craig is gazing right into his eyes, and Thomas is certain that he recognizes him, because he looks just as shocked as Thomas feels.
"This is Thomas, he just moved to town. Thomas, these guys are Tweek and Craig. We've known each other since kindergarten." Kenny introduces them, but Thomas barely registers that he's talking, because at the moment he can barely breath.
Ignoring everyone else in the room, while inhaling deeply in an effort to calm his nerves, Thomas pulls himself together, and flashes Craig his sexiest smile.
Craig's eyes open up a little wider, and his sunburned cheeks grow redder, the message was received loud and clear. Thomas watches as Craig swallows nervously. Craig's response is enough to boost Thomas' confidence.
"Hello Craig, it's great to see you again." Thomas blurts out, and unconsciously nips at his bottom lip as he waits for Craig to reply.
Craig remains silent, staring at Thomas with something like bewilderment. His blue eyes focused on Thomas' quivering lips.
Tweek is the one who finally speaks. He sits up and scoots possessively close to Craig, before taking a hold of his hand, and glaring up at him. "Gah- you promised, Craig!" he calls out in a tight brittle whisper.
As if a spell is broken, Craig blinks and looks down at Tweek; at first he looks confused, then ashamed, and then all emotions fade away. When he looks up again, he avoids Thomas' eyes.
"Do we know each other, dude?" Craig asks in a voice so cold it makes Thomas shiver.
"Apparently not," Thomas mumbles under his breath, but he continues to stare unable to peel his eyes away. He wants Craig! Even after all these years, he still wants him, he wants his best friend back!
"Thomas, why don't you come downstairs with me," Kenny suggests calmly. He has no idea what is going on, but the tension in the room is overwhelming, and he's worried because Thomas looks to be on the verge of a serious breakdown.
"ASSHOLE" Thomas calls out involuntarily, but he's so worked up that he doesn't even notice it. Craig looks up at him again, their eyes lock, and Thomas sees it, Craig knows him! He knows!
"Thomas?" Kenny reaches out for his hand, but Thomas avoids him, and steps closer to Craig.
"No, I'm not going anywhere!" Thomas hisses, Craig does remember him, it's written all over his face, but for some reason he's lying about it.
'Say you remember me!' Thomas screams out in his head, but Tweek squeezes Craig's hand tightly, causing Craig to break eye contact, and focus back on Tweek.
'Say you remember me, God damn it!'
Thomas snaps. His body starts trembling, and sweat beads up on his forehead. He puts one hand to his chest, because it hurts so much. His heart pounds so hard and fast that it feels like it will rip from his body. He struggles to breathe as the room starts twisting around him. For the first time in years, he feels the panic completely take over.
...Thomas is ten years old again, standing beside Damien in the snow across the street from City Wok, watching jealously as Craig Tucker is stolen from him.
"Craig admitted to being gay in front of the whole school, I saw it myself. They've been secretly together since 3rd grade, but they almost broke up because Craig was cheating on Tweek with some guy named Michael." Thomas remembers Damien's words as if it was just yesterday.
... The memory passes as quickly as it came, but the feeling of overwhelming grief remains, sending Thomas completely over the edge.
"Unfaithful asshole, Craig Tucker is a cheat and a liar!" Thomas mumbles in confusion... his brain registers something small as it whizzes past, and slices across his shoulder; he blinks, but nothing is there.
"COCK-SHIT-ASSHOLE-BITCH" The words spill from Thomas' lips, and his mind slams back to reality.
Thomas' frightened eyes fill with tears, and his hands fly up to cover his lips.
"No way! It's not possible, no fucking way!" Thomas' mumbles through his hands.
"FUCK-COCK-BITCH" Everyone in the room is looking at him now, Kenny and Tweek are looking, and so is Craig! Craig's eyes are staring at Thomas in shock, one hand still holds on to Tweek tightly, but the other rubs at his chest mindlessly.
"Laundry-" Craig mumbles dazedly, followed by "Thomas?"
It's obvious, Craig might not have recognized him before, but he certainly does now!
Thomas can't handle the look in his eyes.
'I have to get out of here!'
Thomas rushes for the door, flinging it open, and flying out of the room.
######
Cupid Me floats in the corner of Token's family room with his mouth gaping wide open and his small bow laying on the floor.
"What did I just do?"
###########
When Cupid Me had flown into the room a few moments ago, he had happily cocked his bow and was about to send an arrow of love through the air towards Thomas, when he noticed Tweek and Craig were also in the room, and he got pulled into the drama. The way that Thomas was looking at Craig was strangely familiar, and suddenly everything got weird. When Thomas' heart flashed back to that day seven years ago, he took Cupid Me's heart along for the ride.
Cupid Me suddenly remembered that he was also there that day, his memory was so bad that he'd completely forgotten. That day was the first time that Cupid Me had ever laid eyes on Thomas and Damien. Thomas had been so heartbroken over Tweek and Craig, and it had made Cupid Me feel so sad, so when Damien bent down to give Thomas a little kiss, Cupid Me decided to help Damien along, by shooting Thomas with a love arrow.
'Oh shit!' Cupid Me panicked, as he realized that what he was about to do was all wrong, 'Regardless of what Kenny might feel for Thomas, Thomas is meant for the boss, and I can't let Thomas love Kenny back.'
But he remembered too late, the arrow flew from his bow, but since Cupid Me was distracted, as well as out of practice, it veered off its mark. The arrow barely managed to graze its intended target, before bouncing off to strike Craig Tucker directly in the heart.
"OH CRAP! I DID NOT MEAN TO DO THAT!" Cupid Me screamed, at the same time that Thomas shouted, "COCK-SHIT-ASSHOLE-BITCH"
Dropping his bow he watched in horror as Thomas panicked and ran out of the room followed by Kenny.
###########
Cupid Me regains his senses and peers around the room. Craig sits silently staring straight ahead. 'Is he looking at the spot where Thomas once stood, or is he staring at me?... Can he see me? No, that's impossible.'
Tweek is staring up at Craig, and the look on his face makes the little cupid shiver. The look of love that Cupid Me witnessed earlier is now gone, replaced by jealousy, anger, and pain... yes that is most certainly pain. This is the same couple who were a little confused, but happy earlier, but now they both look broken.
Cupid Me flies down to the floor and retrieves his bow. Cupid Me doesn't stick around for what happens next, he flies out of the room, ignoring Kenny and Thomas as he passes them, and heads out the front door.
"This is horrible," Cupid mumbles to himself as he flies down the street. Not only is Kenny in love with Thomas, the boss's true soulmate, but now Craig Tucker will fall in love with Thomas too... or since the arrow was sent with Kenny as the intended love interest, will Craig fall for Kenny instead? And what about Tweek and Craig? Cupid Me has made a very grave error.
"What the fuck do I do? I'm a disgrace as a cupid, and the boss is going to kill me for sure!"
###############
"Thomas, wait!" Kenny's voice is calling out from behind him, but Thomas doesn't stop.
Thomas rushes out the entranceway doors into Token's front yard.
'This can't be happening! I'm healed, Damien healed me.'
"Thomas!" Kenny is coming after him, but that's the last thing that he needs right now, he cuts over the grassy lawn heading for the front gate.
"Leave me alone! Please, just leave me alone!" Thomas calls out, "BITCH-BITCH-ASSHOLE"
It's too much, the anxiety is too strong, he'll never make it home in this condition, he needs to calm down. As he comes upon the small empty guard house, Thomas stops and places one hand up against it, leaning forward and trying to catch his breath.
"COCK"
Biting down on his tongue, so hard it draws blood, Thomas tries to remember the calming exercise he used to do as a child.
'I just want to go home, Damien I'm afraid, I need you!'
"Thomas, calm down."
But the strong pair of arms that wrap around him from behind do not belong to Damien, they belong to the enemy!
"Leave me the fuck alone! Please, just go away!" Thomas begs, and turns to face Kenny. "SHIT-SHIT"
Wetness is pouring down his face, is he fucking crying now? How fucking humiliating can things get?
"Just relax!" Kenny commands, and Thomas tries to squirm out of his arms, but Kenny is much stronger than he looks, and Thomas cannot break away.
"Let me go!" Thomas glares at him, but instead Kenny raises his hand and brushes his fingers softly against Thomas' cheek. "Don't! COCK-SHIT-SHIT"
"Shhh! Everything will be alright!" Kenny shushes him, pulling him even closer, and brushing away his tears, while staring into his eyes captivatingly. Thomas stops fighting. This feeling is so familiar, it reminds him of Damien, but this isn't Damien, it's too fucking gentle to be Damien!
"BITCH-FUCK" Thomas starts to struggle again, causing Kenny to tighten his grip.
Kenny lowers his lips over Thomas' mouth and kisses him gently. Thomas turns his head away, trying to escape, but Kenny follows his lips and captures them again in a soft and agonizingly loving kiss.
"Why!" Thomas cries out, when Kenny breaks the kiss just for a moment, before diving back in. This time Thomas doesn't move away, because it feels too good. Kenny's kiss feels calm, it feels safe, and Thomas needs this! Nothing Thomas has ever known has felt this warm and right.
'Fuck!' Thomas screams out in his head, 'this can't be, it shouldn't feel like this! I shouldn't be responding like this.'
Kenny kisses him slowly, his fingers running gently up and down his back soothingly, and Thomas relaxes into Kenny's chest, his lips open slightly to allow Kenny's tongue inside, and his arms reach up to wrap around his neck.
#########################
After Thomas fled and Kenny flew after him, Tweek sat on the couch staring up at Craig, and waiting for him to explain exactly what just happened, but Craig didn't explain anything.
Instead, Craig continued to silently stare straight ahead at the spot where Thomas once stood. The look on Craig's face was impossible to interpret.
'Craig is a big stinking liar!' Tweek finally decides, and he's had enough of this, so he puts all of his frustration into his fist, and he punches Craig in the arm hard.
"Ouch, that fucking hurt!" Yeah that worked, Craig is looking at him now.
"I'm going home, are you coming?" Standing up Tweek starts to leave, and doesn't look back, after a moment Craig stands up and follows.
##End of Chapter 14######
We are about halfway through the story, and I would love to hear what everyone thinks, so speak to me, just be gentle!
Also I am taking a hiatus to deal with personal matters.