I don't own South Park - it's owned by the very talented Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
The Contest
by cell12
Chapter 26
Kyle didn't really know what to expect when he awoke. He was nervous about what Eric might say and do after last night. Surprisingly Cartman was rather calm about the whole thing.
"Are you still tired Kahl?" Cartman asked when he saw the Jewish boy moving.
"A bit," Kyle admitted.
"You're probably not used to having your sleep disrupted," Cartman surmised, "if you need another couple of hours, it's fine. Ah don't expect the film crew to turn up until after ten."
"About last night," Kyle started.
"Don't worry about it Kahl," Cartman told him gently, "ah know that you were just trying to comfort me and make me feel better."
"Yeah," Kyle lapsed back into the bed. It felt strangely empty and lonely without Cartman's presence.
"Ah appreciate it Kahl," Cartman smiled, "you were being a good friend to me - even though ah don't really deserve it."
Kyle tried to protest but Cartman raised his hands up to stop him.
"Ah know that ah'm not the easiest person in the world to get on with," Cartman was looking away out of embarrassment.
Kyle watched as Eric slipped out of the room and a few seconds later he could hear the shower running. He grabbed Eric's pillow and pulled it to his chest, cuddling it close and pressing his face into it, to enjoy the scent. It smelt of Eric and, to Kyle, it smelt wonderful. Kyle closed his eyes, promising himself that he would only rest for the five minutes Cartman would take in the shower but despite his efforts he quickly nodded back off to sleep.
It's half eight Kahl," Cartman said, gently resting a hand on his friend's shoulder and rocking him awake.
"Kiss me again," Kyle mumbled, still half-asleep and still enjoying the remains of a dream that, even now, he couldn't recall.
"Come on Kahl," Cartman insisted, "a shower will wake you up. Ah've made scrambled eggs for breakfast."
Kyle sat up at the thought of food, a good breakfast was, just about, worth getting up for.
"Your clothes are already picked out for you," Cartman gestured towards a neat pile sitting on his computer chair, "they're extra sexy today because, well, you know."
"Thanks Eric," Kyle said, stretching.
"Ah've just got to go check on my mother," Cartman said as he retreated out of the room.
Kyle pulled himself out of bed and padded, barefoot, to the bathroom. It didn't take long to drop his shirt and shorts in the laundry basket and then he was being his by the warm and soothing water. Cartman was right about the shower waking him up, then again Cartman was right about a lot of things. That particular idea didn't bother Kyle as much as he thought it might, in fact it didn't really bother him at all. Kyle was a strong person. He was a person who was always ready to accept his own feelings and acknowledge them. As such he had recognised that he did have an attraction to Eric. He wasn't in love with him but he could be, so very easily.
If Cartman had asked him out on a date, just a few days ago, he would have rejected the larger boy out of hand. He would have probably sent him away with a barrage of insults, but now, now he had seen a softer and more gentle Cartman. Now he had met Eric. A guy who had a crappy life but instead of complaining all the time just got on with things. A guy who cared about his friends and did everything he could to help them but who would deny everything if you ever tried to thank him. A guy who took care of the mother who was responsible for making his life so awful, without complaint and with a quiet dignity that Kyle admired. A guy who was gentle and kind and funny. It was still Cartman, he was still manipulative and scheming but Kyle had finally seen what was beneath the surface and he, kind of, liked what he had found.
Kyle finished scrubbing himself down with Eric's tropical shower gel, he recognised it as the one Cartman always used and smelled of. He turned in the warm water, rinsing himself off, then stopped the water and stepped out of the shower. He then dried off with the towel that had been left of the heated towel rail for him, before wrapping it around his waist and returning to the bedroom.
Kyle quickly dressed in the outfit Eric had selected for him; deep dyed indigo jeans, dark blue t-shirt and a soft cotton track-suit jacket in gold. He was also surprised to see a shoe box sitting underneath his pile of clothes. When he opened it, Kyle saw an amazing pair of suede trainers also in the same indigo blue. They had already been laced and were in his size, Kyle took them out of the box and tried them on. They looked good - even to Kyle who didn't usually bother about these things. He hurried downstairs to get Cartman's opinion on how he looked and to get the breakfast he was, more than, ready for.
Cartman couldn't hide his smile as Kyle entered the kitchen, "You look good," he complemented, "even though you forgot to gel your hair."
Kyle raised a hand to his, still damp, head and grinned, "I was in a hurry for breakfast," he admitted, "I'll do it when I go up to brush my teeth."
Cartman nodded, "You can use my electric razor while you're up there, if you want," he turned back to the stove, "help yourself to fruit juice."
Kyle fetched himself a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table. He watched as Eric served a large portion of eggs onto a plate and added some strips of what looked like bacon. He looked up at his friend, puzzled, as the plate was placed in front of him.
"They're turkey rashers, if you're wondering," Cartman said, noticing Kyle's expression, "ah tried them myself the other day, in a sandwich, and ah have to say they're not bad."
Kyle broke off a piece and jabbed it with his fork. Cartman was right about the turkey rashers, they were good, but the eggs - they were out of this world.
"What did you do to the eggs to make them taste this good?" Kyle couldn't help but ask.
"Sour cream and chives," Cartman answered, he appeared to be hacking away at a pineapple with a large knife.
"Like Pringles?" Kyle joked, taking a sip of his drink.
"Yes exactly like that," Cartman paused to turn to Kyle, "where do you think ah got the idea from?"
Kyle ate another forkful, "You have a weird way of creating you recipes."
"Not really Kahl," Cartman had returned to his chopping, "you've eaten a cheese omelette before, haven't you?"
Kyle nodded, as he finished the last of the eggs on his plate.
"Does your mom make it with onions?"
"Sometimes," Kyle answered, swirling the last of his juice around in the glass, "she also throws in other things; mushrooms, peppers, left-overs, anything in the fridge really."
Cartman nodded, "If ah put cheese into scrambled eggs it would just turn into a huge lump in the pan," he explained, "so ah tried sour cream - which has a similar taste."
"And the chives?" Kyle asked.
"They cook so much faster than an onion," Cartman said, "it allows me to throw everything into the pan at once."
It made sense when Cartman explained it but Kyle didn't think that he could ever be so creative in the kitchen - at least not with food anyway!
"What exactly are you doing, Eric?" Kyle asked as he got up to rinse his plate for the dishwasher.
"Ah'm making table snacks for when the film crew arrive," Cartman replied, "it should help us make a good first impression."
"Do you need any help?" Kyle offered.
Cartman thought for a second, "Not with this but after you've fixed your hair, you could give the living room a once-over. Tidy, straighten, dust and vacuum - if you don't mind. Ah'm a bit rushed for time, with having to see to my mother."
"How is she?" Kyle asked.
"She's still sleeping it off," Cartman answered, "ah'll go and wake her up when ah'm finished here."
"You care about her, don't you," Kyle spoke like it was an accusation, "despite all the crap she puts you through."
"Ah can't help it Kahl," Cartman looked apologetic, "she is my mother after all."
"She doesn't deserve you," Kyle told his friend as he left to go upstairs.
Cartman didn't reply, he tried to look busy spearing cubes of pineapple with cocktail sticks. His mind though was thinking about what Kyle had said. "You don't understand Kahl," Cartman said under his breath, "if I didn't have her, I would be all alone."
Kyle returned to the bathroom and searched around, looking for the hair gel and Cartman's razor. He found both in a cupboard by the sink. Kyle grabbed the electric razor and turned it on, he had never used one before and didn't know whether it even ran on mains or battery. It buzzed to life and Kyle dabbed it at his face nervously.
Kyle was startled by the sound of Eric laughing behind him. The larger boy must have finished in the kitchen and had come upstairs to wake his mother, "Ah wondered why you were taking so long," he said grinning.
Kyle stopped the razor, "I've never used one before and I don't really know how to shave with it properly."
Cartman smiled, "Ah'd never used a disposable razor before and you saw how badly ah cut myself at your house," he was trying to make Kyle feel better, "doesn't your dad have an electric razor?"
"No," Kyle answered.
Cartman stepped towards Kyle, "Ah'll show you how it's done if you like."
Kyle nodded and handed to razor over to Cartman. He expected Eric to demonstrate on himself before returning the shaver. Instead Cartman started to shave Kyle, holding the smaller boy's face with one hand while drawing gentle circles with the razor.
"The trick is," Cartman instructed, "to work in circles like this while keeping the skin taut."
Kyle didn't say anything, he just stood there feeling slightly stunned by the intimate physical contact.
"A lot of people are nervous because of the buzzing noise," Cartman continued, "it sounds especially bad when you get near your ears."
"Who taught you to shave?" Kyle asked, thinking only that his friend was so good at explaining things that he must have had a good tutor himself.
"No-one taught me," Cartman replied, "ah just copied what ah saw on the TV commercials."
"Why did you chose to go electric?" Kyle asked, he would have thought that disposable razors were cheaper and easier.
Cartman sighed, he had finished shaving Kyle but remained pressed up close behind him, "You saw how badly ah cut myself the other day. Imagine if ah walked into school cut up like that, all the taunts about me not having a dad to teach me how to shave. It's pretty hard to cut yourself with an electric razor."
Kyle could understand Eric's reasoning, high school was like a bear-pit when it came to pouncing on any sign of weakness.
"My dad would have taught you how to shave if you'd have asked him," Kyle said, "no-one would have laughed at you."
"It's not a problem Kahl," Cartman replied, stepping back, "ah managed fine on my own and ah actually prefer to use this," he brandished the shaver.
Kyle watched as Cartman opened up the shaver head, tapped it out on the side of the tissue bin that sat in the corner of the room and closed it up - before putting it away.
"Ah'm off downstairs to make my mom some lemon tea," Cartman informed his friend, "will you want some?"
Kyle pulled a face, "No thanks Eric, no offence but that stuff tastes vile."
Cartman grinned, "Ah take it that your mother drinks it as well?"
"What is it with mothers and fancy teas," Kyle grumbled, "it isn't as if it tastes good or anything."
"It's not supposed to taste good," Cartman replied, "it's supposed to clean the toxins out of your system."
"Does it work?" Kyle asked sceptically.
"Ah wouldn't know," Cartman replied, "ah just make it for my mom," with that he left Kyle to finish off in the bathroom.
Kyle reached for his toothbrush as he heard Eric retreat back down the stairs. He couldn't help but feel sorry for his friend, 'he deserves so much better than this,' he thought as he brushed. Kyle was slowly beginning to realise that this contest might be Cartman's only chance to change his life for the better. To get away from his mother and her disgusting behaviour. Kyle vowed to do everything he could to try to win the contest.
Authors Note: Sorry about the longer-than-usual delay for this chapter. I have my reasons, the main one being that the previous chapter ended up with an extra chunk on it that was supposed to be the start of this chapter. I usually try to write the first few paragraphs of the next chapter before I post the completed one, that way I've got a start on the new chapter and there's no daunting blank page. I've also had health problem and technology problems to deal with.
And now to answer a few points that came up in the reviews.
KatQ66 asked for a pineapple to feature in this chapter, don't ask me why. Normally I don't like to deviate from my plans for a story, but this wasn't a plot suggestion so I thought - why not.
CarnivalRiotx3 had some interesting points about diabetics and their diet. I personally don't know enough about the subject to judge whether I've got it right or not. As far as this story is concerned, Kyle eats healthy and avoids refined sugar in foods. He does eat natural sugars in fruit and vegetables. I imagine Kyle as the sensible person who would chose to eat healthily even if he didn't have diabetes. I haven't written scenes describing him injecting himself with insulin because, personally, I'm really nervous around needles. It's not something I want to write unless it is important for plot purposes. It's the same thing with going to the toilet, we all do it but we rarely see it on TV or read about it (except in comedy s as part of a joke). Imagine Romeo and Juliet's famous balcony scene interrupted by an, hold on a minute while I go to the bathroom?
As an additional note, I don't remember seeing Kyle using his medicine when he's been on sleep-overs on the TV show. I know that some people have small portable kits that they take with them on such occasions. Given how squeamish Stan is about hospitals - is it not natural to assume that Kyle takes his medicine in private so not to upset his friend and that, over the years, it had become his usual habit?
A big thank you to all my reviewers and also to those of you who chose to favourite or alert this story or me. One of the things I enjoy the most is logging on to my account and seeing the story traffic a couple of days after I've posted a chapter. Kyman love to all my readers, cell12.