So, we're finally getting to some conflict! And it only took us nine or ten chapters! Yay? Anyway, I rearranged the timeline so I'm not quite sure what's going to happen in this chapter, but I think I know how it's going to end! Yay!
Again, I'm sorry it's been taking me so long between chapters. I have a job, life, depression and a multitude of other things that make it hard to update everything quickly, so please bear with me.
"You scream at me…"
Chapter Eleven – God Damn, You Got Me in Love Again
Stan really had a feeling that Kyle was furious with him. He didn't really blame him. He could see how this could be a betrayal of his trust… again. But they were only going to see Angela for this moment, and Stan hadn't forgiven her. He just didn't want to make this event any more awkward than it already was. Apparently, Kyle didn't feel the same.
"He's still not answering his phone, huh?" Wendy asked as Stan sighed and shoved his own phone into his pocket for the fifth time.
"No," Stan replied. "I'm not too worried though. He'll cool off eventually… hopefully… and then everything will be fine. He's got Cartman with him anyway."
"I noticed that Eric has lost a lot of weight," Angela spoke up. "I remember he was just a ball of dough when we were kids. Did he start taking his health seriously?"
"We have no idea," Kenny said with a shrug. "He won't tell any of us. I personally think he's doing it to try and impress his ex-girlfriend."
"Ex-girlfriend?" Angela repeated, surprised. "What have I been missing?"
As Wendy and Kenny explained to her what had been happening the past several seasons, Stan took out his phone again, this time sending a text message to Cartman. If Kyle wasn't willing to talk to him, perhaps his other friend would.
Stan: Where are you guys at? Is Kyle ok?
Cartman didn't reply right away, so Stan looked back up at his friends and Angela. It really did look like all the craziness had left his ex. But, then again, she had been a pretty convincing liar when they were ten. She got him to believe that she loved him and that his best friend had betrayed him, after all.
Did Angela even still have feelings for Kyle? Did it matter? It wasn't like they were going to see her again. And there was no reason for her to be scheming this time around. Right? There was no point anymore… right?
His phone suddenly buzzed in his hand, breaking him out of his thoughts. He looked down at it to see that Cartman had responded.
Cartman: We're fine. Listening to one of the bands. Meet you back at the RV.
Stan sighed and put his phone back in his pocket. Well, that didn't help. When he looked back up, Kenny, Wendy and Angela were staring at him with worried looks.
"H-How's Kyle?" Angela asked hesitantly.
"I think he's cooled off," Stan lied. "That's what Cartman said at least."
"We should give him a peace offering," Wendy suggested. "You know, something to make him a little less angry at us."
"Good idea," Stan agreed.
"Can I come?" Angela asked, stepping forward. "I don't have to be there when you talk to him, I just thought it would be nice to explore the festival with people I know."
The three of them exchanged glances before Stan reluctantly said that she could come along. They explored the different tents and booths, looking at everything they had to offer. Most of them were run by Native Americans or hippies. There were a lot of dream catchers and incenses, but the Native Americans also had amazing artworks for sale and things whittled out of wood. There was also a tent that was selling natural honey, and for some reason the person selling it had decided to bring his bees with him because he was absolutely covered in them. They decided to steer clear of that tent.
There was a tent selling different types of cheese, with the owner wearing a cow suit because they guessed he was insane. There was a vegan tent that was in your face about how preachy and vegan they were. They found Tweek, Clyde and Craig at a tent that was selling things made out of alpaca fur. Craig was buying a hat that looked exactly like the one he was wearing, only made out of alpaca fur and way more expensive.
"That's how you know it's better," Craig was saying to an unconvinced Clyde.
They decided to look through one of the Native American tents because they knew that Cartman would murder them for even glancing at one of the hippie tents. Kenny managed to find a glass pendant necklace that they knew Kyle would like.
"Maybe we should get Cartman something too," Angela suggested. "A sort of 'sorry you had to be the person Kyle takes all his anger out on' thing, you know?"
Stan gave her a look. He didn't like her trying to act like she knew his friends well, but he did have to admit that she was right about Kyle's temper. He and Cartman always had short fuses, and when they exploded, they were like an actual bomb; vaporizing whatever had ticked them off in the first place. He knew both of them were working on their anger issues, but it was still nearly impossible to calm Kyle down once he lost it. Poor Cartman.
"Do you think he'd like one of these hand carved wooden animal things?" Kenny asked, holding up a carving a bear.
"I don't think it'd be a good idea to give Cartman a potential weapon," Stan pointed out to him. Kenny immediately dropped it as if he had been burned by it.
"Ok, that's the tenth hippie we've seen," Cartman said as he and Kyle continued to wander around. "I officially hate this place."
"Come on, it's not that bad," Kyle said, nudging him playfully in the side. "At least there's junk food and cool stuff on sale. And the music is pretty good."
"Yeah, true," Cartman relented with a sigh. "And this kettle corn is amazing!"
He and Kyle had been sharing a bag of kettle corn between them while they walked around the festival, listening to the different bands. Kyle had calmed down considerably and was smiling and joking around with his friend. Cartman couldn't help but laugh along with him.
The two of them made their way over to one of the stages where a bunch of people were dancing. They were suddenly pressed together as a group passed them and not a single person bothered to try going around them. Cartman tried not to blush as Kyle was pressed against him while Kyle cursed at the people who kept shoving them.
When the crowd finally passed, Cartman cleared his throat and Kyle took a quick step away from him. Cartman opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, they heard someone calling their names and they both turned towards the sound. Cartman let out a terrified scream and quickly hid behind Kyle when they saw that it was Heidi.
"Eric! Kyle! There you are," she said, running up to them. "I've been looking for you!"
"Oh god, she's finally going to extract her revenge," Cartman muttered, tightening his grip on Kyle's arms. Kyle rolled his eyes and decided to ignore him.
"Hey Heidi," he greeted her when she was finally in front of them. "What's up?"
Unlike Cartman, Kyle was still on friendly terms with Heidi. Even though she had broken his heart, she had apologized for how she had treated him after she had finally broken up with Cartman for the last time. He quickly forgave her, so now the two of them were close enough friends and the awkwardness between them was gone.
"I didn't know if you already knew, but I just wanted to warn you guys that Stan's bitchy ass ex-girlfriend is here," Heidi said, catching her breath. Kyle sighed.
"Yeah, she already came and talked to us," he said, trying to push Cartman off of him. "She tried to act all friendly with us and said she was sorry for everything she did to Stan and me. And for some reason, Stan actually believed her."
"Seriously?" Heidi asked, blinking in surprise. "Even though we all know how good she is at turning on the water works? We called her 'Bitchy McBitchface' for a reason!"
"Stan's kind of an idiot like that," Cartman said, still hiding behind Kyle.
"Do you believe her, Kyle?" Heidi asked her friend.
"Not even sort of," he replied, folding his arms. "Cartman doesn't either. I've seen what she's capable of. She's a master manipulator. She easily had Stan wrapped around her finger last time, and if he's not careful, she'll do it again."
"Do you want me to go punch her lights out for you?" Heidi asked in a serious tone, holding up her fist. "Because I can totally do it." Kyle couldn't help but smile at her.
"Nah, better not," he replied. "We'll be leaving soon so we don't have to see her any more, and I wouldn't want to get you into trouble." Heidi gave him a pouty look but put her fist back down. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by the band on stage starting up a new song.
"Ooo! I love this song!" She said with delight. "Kyle! Eric! Come dance with me!"
"Oh… no… I want to live," Cartman replied, backing away. She didn't listen and instead grabbed both of their arms and dragged them towards the middle of the dance floor. Thankfully, the song was a fast paced song and not nearly slow enough for them to get too close. Cartman was still too paranoid about that Heidi was trying to secretly kill him, so he mostly stood to the side and watched as his friend awkwardly danced with Heidi, who looked like she was having the time of her life. Cartman couldn't help but smile.
At least one of us is having fun, he thought. As he stood there, fantasizing about… things… he suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. With a sigh, he pulled it out and saw that there was a group chat message from Stan's dad.
"Hey Kyle," he said, looking up. "Stan's dad just texted. He says they're getting ready to leave and anyone who doesn't get to the RV in ten minutes gets left behind."
Kyle turned to look at him before letting out a sigh of his own.
"Well, knowing Stan's dad, he's probably actually serious with that threat, so we should get going," he said. He turned back to Heidi. "See you later, Heidi. Have a great summer."
"You too," Heidi replied with a smile. "And good luck with Bitchface! Don't let her get under your skin too much."
Kyle opened his mouth to reply, but Cartman was already grabbing his arm and dragging him away, so he was forced to fall into step with him. They made their way back towards the RV, where Butters had been the first one back besides the dads. Randy was now wearing a tie-die shirt, a brown vest and colored glasses; having bought all of them from one of the hippie tents. Cartman pursed his lips when he saw him.
"Ew," he growled, eyeing Randy with distaste.
"Where's everyone else?" Gerald asked, looking around.
"I don't know," Kyle replied with a shrug. "We all kind of split up."
"We're here!" Wendy called as she, Stan and Kenny hurried up a hill towards them. "Don't leave without us!" Craig and Tweek arrived two minutes later, explaining that they had been saying good-bye to Clyde.
"Alright, let's go," Randy said. "Everybody climb in!"
The atmosphere was a lot tenser as they left than when they had arrived at the festival. Kyle thankfully wasn't giving any of his friends the death glare, but he certainly didn't look happy. He wouldn't look at Stan, Wendy or Kenny and instead opted to stare out the window. Cartman sat down next to him and gave his three friends a judgemental glare.
Stan glanced at Wendy and Kenny, only to see them both giving him a "We're not going to speak first" look. He sighed and rolled his eyes before turning to look at Kyle.
"I'm… We're sorry for giving Angela another chance," he said, gathering up his courage. Kyle's eyes flashed towards him, but he didn't move. "I didn't want to hurt you, especially after what she did. I know you'll never forgive her, and I don't think you should forgive her. I'll probably never forgive her either. I just… thought it would be easier if… we got along. Just for a day, at least. If she really has changed, then we won't have to worry about her anymore."
"You didn't actually believe her, did you?" Kyle asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I know I believe in giving people second chances," Wendy spoke up. "Including her. What if she really has changed?"
"And what if she hasn't?" Kyle snapped at her. "She's putting on the same act that she did when she accused me of kissing her. What makes you think she's sincere now?"
"We don't," Stan replied, trying to keep his voice calm. "But I think it's better if she thought we accepted her. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Besides, she tried to murder me when I dumped her and she didn't even like me. I don't want to even think about what she might have done now if we hadn't 'forgiven' her."
Kyle let out a sigh. "I guess you're right," he relented. "She could have easily snapped your spine in three different places if she wanted to. And we did promise never to let a girl come between us all those years ago."
Stan couldn't decide if he felt relieved that Kyle didn't seem to hate him after all or annoyed at his comment about how easily Angela could beat him. Wendy saved him from having to choose by nudging him in the side and he quickly dug into the bag he had been carrying.
"We got you something to say sorry with," he told Kyle, pulling out the necklace and holding it out to him. "We thought it was your style." His friend took it from him and held it up to the light. Finally, he smiled.
"Thanks, Stan," he replied. "And I accept your apology."
"It was my idea!" Kenny proudly declared.
"No, it was my idea," Wendy pointed out to him with a glare.
"Well… I picked it out," Kenny mumbled.
"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Cartman suddenly asked.
"Don't worry Eric," Wendy said, rolling her eyes with a smile. "We got you something too." Then she pulled out a dark shirt with the word "Hippies" on it, with a red circle crossing it out. Cartman smiled and quickly snatched it up.
"You guys know me so well," he said, hugging it to his body.
Thankfully, Craig, Tweek and Butters hadn't been listening to their conversation. Butters was busy looking through the things he had bought, while Tweek was doing something on his phone and Craig had fallen asleep.
The sun was starting to set by the time they reached Yosemite National Park. They got a ticket or something and paid a fee that allowed them to have their RV camp in one of the camping lots or something. Blah, blah, blah, boring stuff, and then Randy was parking the RV and pulling out things to make a fire with. Gerald pulled out a bag of marshmallows, hot dogs and other campfire stuff that they totally had the whole time and you can't prove otherwise.
Cartman and Craig went out and grabbed wood for the fire, while Kenny showed Tweek how to make a fire with just sticks and string. Stan, Kyle and Wendy put out all their campfire food and chairs so they could all gather around in a circle.
"Now this is a great fire," Randy said about a half hour later as he warmed his hands.
"I always love bonfires and camping," Wendy sighed as she put a hot dog on a stick. "They're so romantic and they allow you to get close to nature and it's a great way to put some hair on your chest."
"Hot dogs are too boring for me," Kenny said, going over to the table where they had set everything up as Stan gave his girlfriend a confused look. "I'm gonna make myself a pizza sammie."
"You mean 'sandwich'?" Craig asked.
"I mean 'sammie'," Kenny clarified.
"I thought we all agreed you were never going to call them 'sammies' ever again," Cartman said, glaring over at Kenny.
"I never agreed to that," he replied. Cartman rolled his eyes and grabbed the bag of hot dogs, skewering two of them with his own stick and sticking them into the fire.
They were all silent for a while as they all just cooked food or stared into the fire. Tweek was sitting the furthest from the fire, twitching nervously as he used the longest skewer they had to cook his hot dog. Butters was singing to himself while he waited for his own hot dog to be done, and Kyle was also making a pizza sandwich because those things are amazing.
"Anyone have a scary story?" Kenny asked once night had fallen and they had all switched to cooking marshmallows.
"Anyone who's not Butters?" Cartman added before Butters could raise his hand. Butters pouted at him and went back to roasting his marshmallow, oblivious to the fact that it had caught on fire. "I could always tell the story of Scuzzlebutt."
"Aw man, that brings back memories," Stan sighed. "That was like our third or fourth episode, wasn't it?"
"I know the author always misheard Cartman and thought the creature's name was 'Scunklebutt,'" Kenny giggled. "And I was her favorite character!"
"No, I'm pretty sure Kyle was her favorite character even back then," Stan pointed out to him, causing him to pout.
"Well, I was her second favorite character," he muttered under his breath.
"Ok guys, we should probably stop," Kyle said. "I don't think the fourth wall can take that much abuse."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Stan agreed.
Cartman then regaled them with the story of Scuzzlebutt once more, adding in random new details, like that talked with a pirate accent and liked the taste of teenagers the most. Craig then decided to read on of the stories from "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," because Tweek had packed that book with him for some reason.
Finally, Randy brought out a guitar he had packed and played some classic campfire songs. And then the campfire songs turned into slow love songs for no reason. It was late into the night before they all decided to finally turn in. Gerald and Kyle quickly put out the fire and made sure that no embers remained before they all went to bed.
But Cartman found that he couldn't sleep. He kept replaying the day and the entire trip over and over in his head. He was still worried about Angela. Like Kyle, he couldn't help but feel like she was up to something. What that might be, he had no idea. But it worried him.
But that wasn't the only thing that was keeping him awake. Seeing that bitch again had reawakened suppressed memories in him. He could still remember the humiliation it had brought him. His anger, resentment and fear… and… other emotions he could remember clearly. He had grown since then, and he was proud that he could say that. But there was one thing he had never been able undo. No matter how much he wanted to. No matter how many years went by, he couldn't get rid of it.
He checked his watch. It was one in the morning. He wasn't going to get to sleep, was he? With a sigh of frustration, he rolled over and gently started shaking Kyle by the shoulder.
"Kyle," he whispered, as softly as he could. "Are you asleep?" There was a pause.
"Not really," Kyle whispered back, carefully rolling over to look at him. "I've been… I just can't stop thinking about… that incident with Angela all those years ago. What she did to us… what she did to me…"
Cartman stared down at him. The moon was full and it shined right through the window, showing Cartman the worry in his friend's emerald eyes.
"Do you want to take a walk with me?" He asked him after a moment. Kyle sighed and for a moment, Cartman was afraid that he would reject his offer.
"Sure," he replied eventually. Cartman smiled down at him before rolling off the bed. They both carefully got up and put their coats and hats on over their pajamas, trying not to make a sound. Then they crept over to the door, put on their shoes, and made their way outside, somehow managing to not wake any of the others.
The moon was extremely bright that night and managed to illuminate their path without any trouble, but Cartman had grabbed a flashlight anyway, just in case. Then the two of them set off in a random direction, walking side by side.
They were both silent for a long while, simply taking in the sights and concentrating on not tripping. It was only June, so the nights were still a bit cold, and Cartman tried not to freeze up when he felt Kyle gently press against him.
"It's quiet out here," Kyle eventually said. "I just realized that every other place we've been to so far have been fairly loud. But it's nice and peaceful out here. I like it."
"Yeah," Cartman agreed, hoping Kyle couldn't hear his pounding heart. "It kind of reminds me of home in a way."
"I know what you mean," Kyle said. "When some sort of crazy shit isn't happening, South Park can be rather peaceful, huh?" Cartman nodded but didn't speak.
They carried on for a while more in silence. They could see a few other campers scattered around the place, and a few even still had fires burning. They stopped near clearing and simply stared up at the mountains that surrounded them. It was all magnificent.
Do it, whispered a tiny voice in Cartman's head. Just tell him already! Do it, you coward!
"Hey, Kyle…?" Cartman said hesitantly. "I wanted… to tell you something… something I've been wanting to tell you for… a while…"
Kyle turned to look at him and Cartman could feel his courage start to fail him. Why was he struggling with this so much? He had said it plenty of times, to plenty of people. Why was it so hard to say it now?
Because this time he actually meant it.
Kyle was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and concern in his eyes. Could he hear Cartman's heart pounding against his chest? The racing of his pulse?
"Ok… are you going to tell me what this something is?" Kyle asked when he continued to not say a word. Cartman took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He wanted to not look at him while he spoke, but this was something that required eye contact.
"Well… I've been thinking about what you said," he started. "About me changing, that is. You see, there was a reason why I started losing weight and trying to, you know, stop being such a dick all the time." Kyle blinked in surprise at him.
"Ok," he said slowly. "Are you saying that it wasn't just for yourself?"
"Right," Cartman replied. "Well, part of it was because I wanted to. But something happened near the end of fourth grade that made me realize that if I didn't do something to better myself, I could never live with myself." Kyle stared at him for a long moment, his expression as unreadable as Cartman's.
"So… what happened?" He asked eventually. Another deep breath. Closed the eyes and opened them again. Just do it. Just say it.
"I fell in love with you."
For a long moment, everything was still and silent. Kyle's eyes widened with surprise and his mouth fell open and Cartman could barely stand to look at him. He wanted to take it back, but it was too late now. The secret that had been building up inside of him for four years was finally free, and now he would have to face the consequences.
"Wh-What?" Kyle blurted out, his voice heavy with distress and shock. Cartman flinched. This was not going to end well.
"I… fell in love with you," Cartman repeated. "I realized it while I was dating Heidi. When I… you know… broke you two up… I was angry at the idea of her being with you. And then… I had realized what I had done… and I decided in that moment that I was never going to hurt you again. What I did was selfish, but you were more important to me than my stupid pride." Unable to continue looking at the disbelief in Kyle's eyes any longer, Cartman quickly looked away. He could hear Kyle's breaths become forced, and he didn't even want to imagine what was going through his mind right now.
"How… did this… happen?" He heard Kyle say in a voice barely above a whisper. He didn't even know if the Jew was asking him or if he was just asking himself.
"I didn't want to ever tell you," Cartman muttered, rubbing an arm awkwardly. "But, seeing that bitch again… this entire trip… it stirred memories of… that night… and suddenly I couldn't keep it in anymore." He finally glanced over at Kyle. "I'm so sorry."
Kyle had wrapped his arms tightly around himself, and there was clear distress in his wide eyes. Cartman wasn't even sure if he had listened to a word he had said. Kyle seemed to stare straight through him.
"Eric," he suddenly said, startling him. "Please tell me you're joking. Please tell me that someone put you up to this or that this was just some sort prank."
Cartman gave him a sympathetic smile as he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. Kyle looked at him with surprise.
"I can't lie to you, Kyle," Cartman breathed. "Not anymore."
Then he leaned forward and kissed him deeply.
YOU BETTER BELIEVE I'M HAVING HIM CONFESS NOW! And you better believe that I'm leaving you on a cliff hanger! Sorry about that! XD
Holy crap, this chapter was long. Hope it was worth it! And I hope you all enjoyed it. I was really excited to write this chapter and I needed the end to be the end. I couldn't wait for another chapter. Cartman confessed his feelings to Kyle! Right the fuck out of nowhere! Hooray? How will Kyle take it? What will happen now that he knows? Well, you're going to have to wait for me to tell you. Thankfully, I've been on a bit of a South Park kick, so I'll probably be getting more chapters out sooner. Lucky you!
I'll be moving in with my best friend soon and that may or may not affect my update times, but I promise I'll try to get it out soon!