The ultimatum

I've decided to merge the second and first story because it's such a hassle to read two separate stories instead of one long one. Consider this a season two I guess.

Me and Cartman walked, hand in hand, to my house. We talked about everything that's happened over the past week. After everything that's happened,I wanted to believe that things around here had changed, and people would stop seeing Cartman as the kid he once was. Sadly, that's the thing about quiet little towns. Nothing really ever changes. People come and people go, but everything else stays the same.

We approached my house quicker than I would've liked, since I was enjoying the quiet walk, but I guess it was inevitable at this point. When we were close enough, I saw my younger brother, Ike, come running up to us with fear in his eyes.

"Where the hell were you? Mom and dad are going batshit right now!"

"That might be my fault."

Ike noticed that me and Cartman were holding hands, and I swear the little shit grinned a little.

"I knew something was up with you lately. Well, we can talk about this later, mom and dad are probably waiting for you."

Figures. Ike swiftly ran back inside, disappearing in the house. I bounced on my heels nervously, and let go of Cartman's hand. I expected him to start going home, but he followed me to the door. Before I could go inside, I turned around to face him.

"Aren't you gonna go home?"

"Hell no. You need me right now."

"No I don't. Besides, you might just make it worse."

I didn't face him when I said that, but he might've been hurt by my words.

"Promise you'll be safe?"

"Yeah. You know me, when am I never precautious?"

He nodded and walked towards his house reluctantly. In all honesty, I didn't want him to leave, but I knew that the situation could've been worsened if he were there. Especially since I can't trust that he'll keep his mouth shut. I took a deep breath, then went inside, expecting the worst. Weirdly, when I walked in, nobody was in the living room like I expected. I didn't let my guard down though, and searched the kitchen. Much to my horror, they were still where they were when I left. Not exactly, but Dad was still by the counter and mom was still by the fridge. I prayed to Moses I wasn't getting disowned right now. When they saw me peek my head in, I knew I had some explaining to do, and stepped in the kitchen. I played with the zipper of my jacket anxiously and waited for someone to speak. Thankfully, my mom was the first to break the crushing silence.

"Kyle, your dad and I were talking, and we've decided to take you out of South Park High School."

"What?!"

Nononononononono this is worse than being disowned!

"It's for your own good Kyle. You've hung around all those terrible children and it's made you act horrible. No buts, you're being transferred."

"You can't do this!"

"Yes we certainly can! We are your parents!"

"But all my friends are in South park! I can't just start over!"

"That's too bad Kyle. Also, we aren't moving, so you can still see your old friends, with our permission of course."

"I'm not doing it! No way!"

My dad lifted himself off the counter and held a stare with me. He still had fire in his eyes when he looked at me. I felt terrified, of my own father.

"Kyle, you don't have a choice. You've turned into an emotional little boy who does whatever he feels is right and acts without thinking ahead. Now, you must suffer the consequences of your actions."

"No!"

I wanted to hit him again. Smack that stupid look of his face, but that would only further prove his point. I hate being wrong, so I just stood my ground and hoped for the best. I may do things without acting ahead sometimes, but this time I really can't think of what this could lead to. I can't lose everything I've ever loved because I chose to love someone who nobody thinks deserves it.

"Kyle, you can't date Cartman under our roof. I forbid it!" My mother spat.

"Then I'll leave!"

"Ha!" my dad barked. He actually made me jump with the noise, but I made sure not to make a visible reaction. "Yeah right! You couldn't even get a job Kyle, you won't last a day out there. You'll come crawling back to us in a matter of hours!"

You'd think my dad would know better to not challenge me. I have a reputation of never backing down from a challenge that would belittle me in some way, especially from people I have a burning hate for, even if it's only for the moment.

"That's it, I'm leaving! Have fun explaining to the family how you lost the trust and respect of one of your sons because of your own ignorance!"

I hastily stomped up the stairs and to my room to pack. I guess that could've gone better. God, how am I gonna explain to Cartman that I got myself kicked out? I know both him and his mom will take me in with no questions, but I feel like I'd owe it to them to tell them what's going on anyways. Ike came in quietly a little later, and offered to give me a hand with packing. While we shoved half of my clothes into little bags, Ike asked me, "Where do you plan on staying?"

"With Cartman. He has an extra room, since he lives in a three bedroom house, so I should be able to stay with him."

"Will I still see you?"

It's very rare that Ike shows a brotherly concern for me. He may be adopted, but he's the best person in this house to me, even though he's a bit braggy at times.

"Of course Ike. We're brothers. It's not like mom and dad are gonna keep us apart."

He didn't seem to buy it, because he didn't ease at all from my words of comfort. I continued, "So, don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried."

Obvious lie, but I don't meddle further. He's not very touchy-feely, so I'd rather not make him uncomfortable by talking about our feelings.

When we packed most of my clothes and necessities, my parents waited for me at the door. I could tell Ike wanted to follow me outside, but he stopped himself for fear of our parents. I feel bad for him sometimes. He has no backbone when it comes to our parents, and doesn't know how to stand up for himself. I should give him a lesson or two soon. I turned around, back to our parents, and gave him the biggest hug. He squealed from the sudden embrace, but soon melted into it.

"Promise we'll keep in touch?" he asked quietly. I can swear he's actually tearing up.

"Promise."

Mom loudly cleared her throat behind us, and implication to hurry up. A bit rude if you ask me, but I oblige and move from Ike. I know he really wants me to stay, and I do too, however the circumstances given prevent me from doing so. For the moment, we're just gonna have to adapt and overcome. I walked over to the front door, pausing in front of my parents for a second, who stood at each end of the door. Dad held it open for me to leave, and my mom glared at me, arms crossed. Since it didn't seem like anything was going to be said between any of us, I just quietly walked out with my head down.

"See you in a few hours." My dad growled before slamming the door behind me. I couldn't help but groan at his jab at my capability, nonetheless I started towards Cartman's house. I can hear a nine year old Kyle in the back of my head thinking about how I usually would've went straight to Stan's house in a situation like this, but I ignore that little pest, since things aren't how they used to be.

Cartman's house was oddly bright and louder than it's been in years, so I assumed that Cartman and his mom were doing a little cleaning. That's good because this place was a mess, last I checked. I knocked on the door, hoping to see Cartman. Thankfully, he did answer, and knew what I was about to say before I could even say it.

"They kicked you out?!"

"More like I kicked myself out. Can I stay here?"

"You didn't even have to ask."

Cartman lets me in without a second thought, and takes my bag, tossing it on the couch.

"Where am I sleeping?"

"Right now, the basement. Me and mom are in the process of renovating the house, and none of the rooms on the second floor are available at the moment. Mom's sleeping on the couch, and I was gonna stay in the basement, but since you're gonna be staying with us, you're gonna have to stay down there with me. That sound good?"

"Okay. Don't you need to ask your mom to have me stay here?"

"No, I told her to expect you. I didn't think so soon though. Guess I should tell her something."

Cartman retreated upstairs, and I flopped on the couch, my bag digging into my back. Wish I thought this through a little better, but I guess this is the best it's gonna get. I'm gonna be living with Cartman.

Like a real couple.

Are we a couple?

I mean, I told him I loved him, but he didn't say it back. And we haven't officially said anything about the concept. He did say that this relationship, or lack thereof, is his main goal right now, so that has to make us something. I don't know if I want to date Cartman though. I mean, I do love him, and I'd love to be with him, but with the way my parents reacted...

I don't know if it's the best idea right now.

I can't imagine everyone's reactions. The shame, the judgement. I'm gonna go from the 'quiet nerdy jewish kid' to the 'jewish kid that's dating a psychopath nazi'.

And what does this mean for me? I've known Cartman my whole life. I've seen what he can do to the people he loves. Is this really a good idea?

No, I'm not like them. Liane only bended to Cartman will because she was incredibly lonely. It must've been hard interacting with the other parents when they all looked down on you because of your profession.

And Heidi? Well, she was only with Cartman because he manipulated her and everyone put her down for caring about him. She couldn't see past his tricks, I can.

Right?

Yeah, I can.

Everything he and I have been through has been 100% real. I'm sure of it.

"Hey Jew. Come with me and I'll show you where to put your shit."

"You're acting strangely calm."

"Why wouldn't I be calm?"

He lead me down the steps to his basement, and I started to list of the reasons why he shouldn't be as calm as his is.

"You're mom just came back with this whole story, I just got myself kicked out of my house, we both just revealed our deepest darkest secrets to each other, and we still have school tomorrow. In which, nobody knows you're back in South park, where you went, or anything that's happened."

"Calm your tits Kahl. Don't overthink it, just enjoy the moment. Think about it, you finally got out of that hell of a house, and you're living with the man of your dreams."

I rolled my eyes, though I can't say this predicament isn't true. We entered the basement, and Cartman took a seat on a bare mattress on the floor. I guess that's where we'll be sleeping. I tossed my bag somewhere and sat down next to him.

"I can't believe this is all happening."

"So, what did happen?"

"I did a stupid thing. They wanted to pull me out of South park."

"No way."

"Yeah. I didn't want to and told them I was leaving. Dad said I wouldn't last a day, and I wanted to prove him wrong."

"That was a bad move on his part. Well, look on the bright side."

He reached for my wrist and pulled me into his arm, on his lap. I didn't resist, since I was too emotionally drained to care, and melted into his embrace.

"What's that?" I asked. He wrapped his arms around my waist and replied, "You get to live with me."

"Oh joy." I quipped, but I was actually really happy. I'm glad I can live with Cartman. Now I can keep a closer eye on him. Just in case.

Woohoo, The first chapter is finished. Not gonna lie, I struggled with this. I blame my ADHD and extreme procrastination. Not to mention my parents finally got their crap together and bought us kids the Nintendo Switch we were promised months ago. I'm aware that the animal crossing craze is long gone, but that's not gonna stop me from ranting about it until my tongue falls out.

Well, this may be a bad idea to make this, because I can barely type up a few paragraphs without getting bored, so I might just keep this locked away in my docs until the motivation kicks in.

~Craigory