Yom Kippur

I woke up with shadows under my eyes and small bags from how late I stayed up the previous night. I'd been plotting a way to get the old Cartman back, and for him to open up to me, and I think I'd done it. It didn't take too much planning for the premise of the plan, but the details took precise thinking and for everything to happen a certain way to work. Thankfully, those moments mainly depended on me doing or saying the right thing with the perfect amount of emotion in my tone. I'm not as good as actor as Cartman, but I'm good enough that I can fool my parents and Stan.

Thankfully, my parents didn't bring up my obvious drowsiness or eye bags at breakfast. Since now's the perfect time, I decide to execute phase one of my plan.

"Hey Ma." I got my moms attention. She was making pancakes for breakfast, but I just grabbed a piece of bread and stuck it in the toaster.

"Yes Kyle?". Her eyes never strayed from the pan, and she held a hand to her hip, and the other on her spatula. Perfect, she's partly distracted. Hopefully, she stays that way when I ask the question.

"You know how Rosh Hashanah is tomorrow, and we're going to Aunt Abigail's to celebrate it, along with Yom Kippur?"

"That's right, and?"

"Well, I was hoping I could invite one of my friends to come along with us."

My mom's gaze shifted a little, and her jaw clenched, but she continued,

"Alright Kyle. Which one did you have in mind? I bet it's Stanley, isn't it?"

"Not quite Ma. Cartman."

I noticed her grip on the spatula tighten when she flipped the pancakes.

"Isn't he the Anti-semitic one? And you want to bring him to a Jewish holiday party?"

"It's not like that. He's been really down in the dumps lately, and I think bringing him to a party will lift his spirits. Besides, I don't want him to be in that big, empty house alone all weekend."

"I don't know Kyle. I don't think it's a good idea, after all the trouble he got you into when you were young."

"We were 10 mom. He's changed. We both have. He might make an occasional anti-semitic comment, but he wouldn't be Cartman if he didn't. He's my friend, and if I have an opportunity to help him, then I'm gonna take it. Also, you know those parties are always incredibly boring and stretched out. It'll be much more exciting and fun with him there, I promise mom. Please?"

Mom had already made two pancakes for Ike, and had slid them onto a plate. She looked deep in thought, weighing her answers. She knows as well as I do that those parties are always a bit much, and they always make the whole family exhausted when we get back. Not from fun, but from the lack of. Ike passes out in the car on the way back, and explodes with complaints about the whole thing when he's back home. If Cartman were there though, the whole thing would be much more fun.

"Alright Kyle, but you have to promise to keep him under constant watch, got it? I don't want any problems."

"Got it! Thanks mom."

I kissed her cheek, and grabbed my toast that had just popped out, shoving it in my mouth, and quickly grabbing my bag and coat by the door. I waved my dad goodbye and ran to the bus stop, where I knew Cartman would be waiting. Then, I stood beside him and waited for the perfect moment to ask. He was playing some sort of game on his phone, and he had earbuds in, so asking him without being awkward could be difficult. Especially for me. Maybe, I could tweak the plan a little and ask him on the bus.

Once we boarded, Cartman took his usual spot, in the back, and gazed out the window. He had this faraway look in his eyes that compelled me to sit next to him and watch him silently. He noticed me staring at him,not that I was trying very hard to hide it, and took an earbud out, offering it to me. I gave him a playfully questioning look, but accepted his offer and placed the bud comfortably in my ear. He was listening to 'The King' by Conan Gray, which I found odd because Conan Gray is a very feminine guy, that usually Cartman would look down on. Nonetheless, I eased into the bus seat and let myself melt into Conan's words.

'You like me, well obviously.'

I shut my eyes and let the music absorb me. It wasn't exactly relaxing music, it was more upbeat if anything, but I liked the beat.

'So why you tryna leave when you know that I'm the king.'

Of course Cartman likes this song. It plainly states that he's the king. And I thought he was insecure. This still doesn't change my mind about inviting him to the Rosh Hashanah and the Yom Kippur though.

"Cartman"

"Hm?"

"Wanna go with me to a family party this weekend?"

I felt myself move, and I realised that Cartman had chuckled, and I was leaning on his shoulder! I bounced up, and brushed the incident off as if it never happened. He didn't look like he minded, but we're on a bus.

A school bus.

Someone could've seen. And I really don't feel like stirring up rumors.

Cartman paused his song and looked back at me.

"What's the catch?"

"You have to spend the weekend with me and my Jewish family."

"Well, I might just pass up your offer then."

I know he's joking. I sat back in the chair and took out the earbud, handing it back to him.

"You wouldn't. Anyways, it's a holiday so have some spirit."

"What holiday?"

"Rosh Hashanah on Friday and Yom Kippur on Sunday."

"You get to skip school?"

"No. I'm packing today so me and my family can leave right after school tomorrow. You coming or what?"

Cartman put a hand to his chin, exaggerating his thinking. I already know he's made up his mind.

"Why not? It beats staying home alone all weekend."

Our conversation came to a close as the bus pulled up to the high school. When off, Stan and Kenny were waiting for us at the door and I shot Stan a welcoming smile. He smiled back, and all of us walked in together in the order of Stan, me, Cartman and Kenny from left to right. It was perfect.

Stan kept glancing at me all the way to the hallways, which was odd, but he might just be wondering how I ride the bus with Cartman every morning without killing him. I'd wonder too if I didn't know. We all stopped at my locker, because I needed extra books due to my upper classes. Cartman has the same ones, so I was wondering why he wasn't at his locker, then I saw the size of his backpack. It was fucking huge. And cube.

Then I saw that all three of them had big square backpacks. Even Kenny, although it seemed to be off-brand compared to the other twos, as his has a dull orange color, in contrast to Cartman's bright red and Stan's bright blue, and didn't have a logo where the other's had one. I started to feel a little insecure about my lack of keeping up with the trends, but I was never into that shit anyways. Besides, nobody seems to notice, or even care anyways.

I think my outfit makes up for my lacking inclusion in trends though. I put on an oversized, dark green sweater that enveloped my hands and made it hard to grab shit without them pooling up at my wrists. It has white stripes on the left of the sleeves that match well with my white jeans. My jeans cuff, by design, at the bottom and I wore green converse shoes along with my green hat. I dare say I looked good.

Stan watched my as I shoved my, unnecessarily large, books in my bag. He had on his football coat, but it sagged just above his elbows. His backpack was slinged at one side and drooped down to his waist, caused by the bunches of work, and god knows what else, in that bag. He never really got over his hoarding problem in some aspects. He had on a light blue shirt with small white stripes and saggy jeans that cuffed at the bottom as well. A white string tied around his waist like a belt and he also had on black air force ones with white ankle socks. I think he looks amazing, but I may be a bit biased, since I'm his best friend. Kenny had his iconic parka wrapped around his waist, thanks to the springtime weather. He was wearing a dirty and stained white tee, along with patched and ripped jeans that may have been from walmart. We all looked nice, but I think the one with the best fit had to be Cartman. He was wearing a red flannel, with a black shirt underneath that said 'suck my left pinky toe' in bold white font. He had dark blue jeans and a black belt with a wide buckle that must've been a pain in the ass to get on. He was also wearing two necklaces. One with a cross and the other with a small portrait of a woman that seemed to be a locket of some sort. When I looked closer, I saw the woman to be his mother. This rekindled my curiosity concerning her and her disappearance. I'll have all weekend to hear about it.

"Kyle, we need to talk later." Stan said, snapping me out of my trance. I looked back at him and smiled.

"Okay. I needed to talk to you later anyways."

"Really?". Stan seemed a bit happy hearing that I wanted to talk to him, but I remember Stan always being a bit clingy. I nodded and heard a noise erupt from the group. Cartman had been the cause.

"What? Are you two gonna confess your love or something?" Cartman teased quietly, smirking. I felt angered by his comment, as per usual, but I also felt mischievous. As if he were challenging me,

"You jealous fatass?" I quipped.

"In your dreams Jew."

Kenny and Stan interrupted before we could continue, and I'm a bit disappointed. I was really enjoying bickering with him again, but I guess there will be time for that later. The two directed the conversation into mindless chatter about out love lives. Bleh.

"I've had many girlfriends. Some at the same time." Kenny said proudly, as if that was something to be proud of.

"Dude, that's not cool." Stan answered, leaning back against the lockers. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and listened, not really invested in the conversation.

"What?! That's super cool. I get different cooch every night. What about you Marsh, when are you gonna get back into the dating game?"

Kenny nudged Stan in the arm, but I looked up to meet his eyes.

"You and Wendy broke up?" I asked. Stan nodded, and all three of them looked at me like I was stupid.

"They broke up months ago dude. Did you not hear? It was, like, the biggest news." Kenny asked.

"I guess I was too busy with schoolwork or something." I said, rethinking the past few months, trying to recall any mention of a breakup. Stan shot me a sympathetic gaze, while Cartman started quietly giggling.

"What's so funny?" I asked. He stopped giggling, and softly grinned, "Nothing. Just thought of something funny.". Kenny wrapped his arm around Cartman and grinned his toothy grin, spouting,

"And you're not gonna share it? That's not the Cartman we love. Come on, spit it out."

Cartman looked up, examining all of our faces, before speaking.

"Kyle's a big nerd."

"Hey!" I said. Although I meant it to be angry, it came out as a giggle, and pretty soon we were all laughing. I mean, it's funny because it's true I guess. It felt like old times then. All of us laughing together like children. I felt like the empty hole inside was being filled up. Like the years of being alone was being made up for with this one moment. Of course there will be bumps in the road, we wouldn't truly be friends if there weren't, but I want this moment to last forever.

Then the bell rang, causing Kenny and Stan to bolt in the other direction to class. Me and Cartman headed to Spanish in a hurry, almost tripping on each other the whole way. We nearly didn't make it in time, and the teacher scolded us for barely making it, but I was too high on adrenaline to care. After a smack on the wrist with his long-ass ruler, she began the lesson. I sat back in my chair, and pulled out my notebook for Spanish, taking notes on whatever was on the board. I wasn't paying too much attention as I scribbled down the words like a copy and paste machine. I was too busy thinking about the party later. How will Cartman react to my family? Will he be disgusted? Interested?

I'm obsessing over this guy way too much, but it's hard not to when he's a big part of my life right now.

I need to focus back on Spanish. Okay, Spanish.

Spanish

Tacos

Tacos flavored kisses

Remember when Cartman drew Jennifer Lopez on his hand and made it kiss me? That was fucking weird.

Focus Kyle!

Spanish.

"tienes una casa grande."

Casa?

Remember when Cartman did all that crazy shit just to go to Casa Bonita. Why did he do all that when he could've easily gotten his mom to take him? Maybe it was because he wanted to go with me? That's fucking crazy Kyle!

"Kyle! tener algo en tu mente?" The teacher asked.

"Um, Si Senora Garcia." I responded. I'll admit, I'm not the best at speaking or understanding Spanish, but at least I'm passing with a low A.

"¿Puede esperar hasta después de clase?"

"Si Senora Garcia."

She nodded and walked away. I caught Cartman smiling at me in the corner of my eye, but chose not to look in order to stay out of trouble. He's already gotten me in enough trouble today. Well, the thought of him, but still him.

Once lunch arrived, I was so hungry I could eat a horse. My stomach would shut up all last period, amusing Cartman and embarrassing me. Good thing today is Chicken Patty day.

When we got in line for lunch, I was bouncing on my heels because I was so desperate to eat, but Cartman looked odd. Like, he was uncomfortable. Since when is Cartman uncomfortable around food?

"Hey, you okay dude?" I asked skeptically. He glanced at me for a second, and calmly asked, "You want my lunch?".

No way he just asked me that!

"What did you just say?". His eyes widened after I said that, and he shook his head.

"Never mind. Forget I ever offered."

"Nono. I want to know why."

He slouched his shoulders, and shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugging.

"I know how hungry you are. You're stomach was practically crying to be fed last period, so I thought you'd like to have some extra food on your plate today."

"So you're gonna give up you're lunch for me?"

Cartman shrugged again, and I broke into a smile. That's probably one of the nicest things I've ever known Cartman to do.

"That's very sweet of you Cartman, but I'm content with the food I'm given. Thanks for the-"

"I'm not sweet asshole!" Cartman yelled, cutting me off. That's the first time today Cartman said something he'd normally say, so it caught me off guard. Despite his yelling at me, I still continued to smile. I caught Stan and Kenny emerging from the doorway and waved for them to cut in front of me, but since I didn't want to seem like an asshole to everyone behind us, I grabbed Cartman's wrist and pulled him towards them.

"Why do we have to go to them?" He whined.

"Because I don't want everyone in line to think we're assholes for letting two kids cut in front of them."

"We're cutting in front of everyone behind them though."

"Yeah, but we were already in front of those people to begin with."

He didn't retort because by the time he was able to, we were already with Kenny and Stan. Stan grabbed my hand and led me out of the cafeteria, much to my despair. I was really looking forward to lunch today. Maybe I should've eaten more than toast today.

"Where are we going?" I asked after a while of walking.

"To the janitors closet. I need to talk to you, remember?"

Oh yeah. This is the time where I was gonna tell Stan about inviting Cartman to my family party. Though I wish I didn't have to sacrifice lunch for it to happen. I'm fucking starving.

We made our way to the janitor's closet and stood in there in silence for a few seconds.

"So, what did you need to tell me?" Stan asked. I thought he'd want to go first, but I guess I was wrong.

"Oh, well I just needed to tell you something before this weekend."

"Why? What's happening this weekend?"

"I'm going with my family to a holiday party at my Aunt Abigail's this weekend. It's a three day long holiday, so I'll be gone all weekend."

"Lucky."

"Yeah, and I was gonna tell you-"

"Yes?"

Why is Stan so eager?

"Well, I'm bringing Cartman with me and I was hoping you'd make sure he isn't robbed or anything while I'm gone."

Stan stood in silence for a second. His arms were crossed, and he had a dark look on his face.

"Why Cartman?" His voice was dark too, and it sent a shiver down my spine. He sounded almost accusing, or jealous was it?

"Well, you know how he's been lately. I was hoping this would lift his spirits or something."

"But he hates Jews, specifically you. Why would you take him to a party full of Jews, from your family tree. That's just suicide."

"No, that's what I'm trying to prevent. What if I leave him here and he attempts again? What if he succeeds?"

"Do you not trust me and Kenny to watch him while you're gone?"

I sighed. He's probably just jealous because I chose Cartman over him. Like I said before, Stan is clingy.

"Dude, don't be like this. I just want to do what Mr. Mackey told us to. Make sure he doesn't try again. You know you're still my SBF, right?"

A small smile crept on his face, and he nodded.

"Right, I'm just being precautious. Cartman's done a lot of shit to you, and I wanna make sure you're safe."

I smiled. This is the Stan I remember. "Thanks for looking out for me, but I can take care of myself. Especially when Cartman is involved. I hope you haven't forgotten that I know Cartman better than anyone in this town."

"Except maybe Butters."

Holy shit, Butters! He talked to Cartman back then. He'd know something about Cartman's past, or at least about his mom's disappearance.

"Yeah. Can you say what you needed to say now so I can eat. I'm so hungry, I can feel my stomach digesting itself."

Stan's eyes widened and he shook his head, running his fingers through his hair.

"I forgot. We should get you some food though. I think you're stomach is trying to summon a demon or something in there."

We laughed and walked out of the janitors closet, making to lunch just in time to get our food and sit down. I took a seat next to Cartman, and Stan sat across from me, next to Kenny. Kenny was seated next to Butters, and was flirting with him, I assume. Cartman wasn't eating his food, he just sat there, picking at it. As if it'll come to life. I had a feeling that he wasn't gonna eat anything, and grew worried.

Now I need to talk to Butters. He's not at all concerned about Cartman's odd behaviour. Actually, nobody is. It's just me.
Okay, I get Cartman was an asshole back when we were small, but that doesn't mean he hasn't changed. For example, I used to be his most hated person, now we get along. More or less.

After I'd quickly eaten everything on my plate, I called out to Butters, who was sipping his chocolate milk. Does he know that the chocolate milk here is 2% water?

"Butters." I called. I got attention from everyone at the table after I called out to him, and started to feel a little anxious.

"Um, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked sheepishly. Butters had a wide grin on his face when he answered.

"Of course Kyle. W-we can chat by the water fountain.". It's relieving that Butters is still the same he's always been. He's nice to talk to. I stopped interacting with him and Jimmy years ago, because I figured they had better things to be doing. Me and Butters walked to the water fountain, leaving the other three boys to chat among themselves. I heard Stan start talking about me when I left, making me want to hang back and listen, but this was a little more important than whatever the guys were saying about me. Besides, I don't care anyways.

"So uh, what did you wanna talk about?" Butters asked, rubbing his knuckles together. Why is he nervous?

"I just wanted to know more about Cartman. You know, before he-"

"Right. I'm not so sure Eric would want me talkin 'bout him behind his back. If he's not tellin you, then it's probably for a good reason."

"I know, but if I want to help him, then I need to know what happened that drove him over the edge. Do you know?"

"I-I don't know a lot. Only bits and pieces. He started working out back in middle school, but he never went to the gym. He claimed that he didn't want the town seeing him at the gym, as if he were embarrassed or something. He, uh, he started to lose a lot of weight. Like, a scary amount. He was also very angry a lot. Sometimes, I'd come over and he'd be screaming at the top of his lungs, and tossing things around. His mom was pretty shaken, but when I went up there, he'd relax. He'd treat me like a little brother, and always told me that if my p-parents were ever too much, to just call him up. He was nice to me. That never changed, even after Liane brought Estaban home. Eric hated that man, and never allowed me in his house if he was home. I don't know much about his home life, but I do know it was rough. He always shone a smile though, and he'd give me things almost everyday. Even after my parents y-yelled at him for doin it, he kept on doin it. One day, he came to my house cryin. I tried to ask him what happened, but all he told me was that his mom had gone. I was so mad, that she just left him like that. I wanted to help him, but he told me no. He told me that he'll be fine on his own, and to worry about myself more. A week or so after that, my parents had kicked me out of the house for eating the honey nut Cheerios instead of the normal Cheerios. I was real mad that I'd gotten kicked out for something stupid, and headed over to Eric's house. When I got there, he-"

Butters stopped. His voice cracked on that last word, and I could tell he wasn't ready to talk about it.

"It's okay Butters. You don't have to tell me about that part. Thanks for giving me more to work with."

"No problem Kyle. We should get back to lunch."

I nodded and we headed back to our table. When we got back, Stan and Cartman were yelling at each other, and Kenny was desperately trying to resolve the fight. Me and Butters rushed over to help, and noticed the attention we were getting for causing a scene. Great.

"Fuck you fatass! I tried to be nice to you, but all you do is fuck shit up!"

"Fuck you hippie, I haven't done shit to you!"

"Yes you have! All you ever do is ruin things, whether you mean to or not.". The two argued. I couldn't even hear Kenny's feeble attempts at conflict resolution over all the yelling. Butters covered his ears, and moved over to try and help.

"Fellas, can we sit down and talk about this instead of yelling?". I noticed Cartman's expression change after he saw Butters obviously uncomfortable, but Stan just grew more angry.

"Fuck off Butters. This doesn't concern you. This is between me and him!"

"Dude, just fucking drop it already. Nobody wants to hear our yelling." Cartman said in his inside voice. It seems like he doesn't want to cause any more harm.

"Don't act this way! Everyone here knows you could care less about what other people want. You're the racist, bigoted, anti-semitic fatass!"

"That's enough!" I yelled. My voice boomed throughout the cafeteria, and caused both boys to look at me with guilty looks. Cartman looked like he was about to cry. I better do something quick.

"Stan! Leave him alone!" I yelled forcefully, making sure he knew how serious I was. His gaze shifted, and he looked at me disapprovingly.

"Me?! He's the one-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

Stan pointed his nasty glare at the table, then grabbed his plate and stormed off. He's so melodramatic. I sighed and flopped back down in my seat, Butters following suit. The whole cafeteria was silent.

"An assembly will be announced at two!" The teacher spoke, breaking the silence.

"When?" Cartman spoke up.

"At two!"

"Bless you." Cartman jokes. A few giggles rose from the cafeteria, and pretty soon most, if not all, the kids were laughing at his little joke. Even I was laughing. He was so proud, he had his charming smile spread on his face. The joke wasn't even that funny, yet everyone was laughing as if it was the funniest thing in the world. I looked around just to see everyone who was laughing. Clyde had fallen out of his seat, Token was shaking his head, but couldn't help but chuckle. Tweek and Craig were laughing their asses off as well, along with Jimmy and Timmy. All the girls were giggling amongst each other, and all the jocks were laughing too. Basically the whole school was in a laughing fit, all because of Cartman.

For some reason, that was the best feeling in the world to me. Knowing such united happiness can be caused by a single sentence from Cartman. It warmed my heart. I'm really looking forward to this trip with him.

After school, I went to Cartman's house to help him pack. The walk there was quiet and calm, something that you wouldn't expect from me and Cartman, especially together. It's nice to know that we can have moments like these, where neither of us have to say a word.

When we were packing his bag, I noticed a few things different about his house. There were no lights on, and almost everything was either broken or damaged in some way. Like his TV was completely shattered, and his couch was torn a little. His room wasn't any better. It smelled awful. I can't put a finger on the stench, but it was foul. The closest description is the taste in your mouth after puking. His bed had only a few blankets and a pillow, and he had few clean clothes.

"Cartman, who's taking care of you?" I asked. He was busy shoving the very few clothes he had into a dark blue suitcase.

"You think I need someone to take care of me?" He quipped, sniffing two shirts, probably determining which one was cleaner.

"Yes I do. You're still a kid, you know."

"What if I emancipated myself from my mom?"

"It's not that easy."

"If it were, I think a lot of kids would be doing it."

I started to recall what Butters had told me earlier. I want to bring it up somehow, but I don't want to make him angry.

"Why did she leave?"

Cartman froze for a second. Just like he did back at the bus stop. It must be a tough subject to talk about.

"She was sick of me." he answered simply. I can tell he's bullshitting.

"Don't lie. Why did she really leave?"

"I'm not lying. She got sick of me. She chose her boyfriend over me."

Cartman angrily continues shoving his weekend clothes in his bag.

"I find that hard to believe."

"Nobody's making you believe it."

"Then tell me something reasonable."

"But that's what happened."

"I don't care. Tell me something believable."

Cartman stares off for a moment, and then starts, "She was pregnant."

I'm glad Cartman wasn't looking at me. I must've looked really shocked. I was. I never thought Liane would get pregnant again.

"Was it on purpose?"

"Not sure. I never got to ask."

Now I'm more intrigued than ever. I urged him to continue, "Why not?"

"She left. With the baby and her boyfriend, Esteban."

"Did you ever find out why?"

"No. After she told me, I went to my room in rage. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, they were gone.". Cartman had a pained expression on his face as he told me. I scooted closer to him and patted his shoulder affectionately. He forced a small smile at me, and continued to pack his bag.

"Did Butters tell you anything else?" he asked, and I stiffened. How did he know?

"How did you-"

"It's pretty obvious. You talked to Butters at lunch, and now you know my mom left."

"Actually, my mom told me, but I did talk to Butters today. He told me you started working out, and also had some anger issues. He also said you were nice to him, and you didn't let him in your house sometimes. He also said he found you on that night."

"Yeah. I had some problems, but this medication is making it a little more bearable." He proceeded to shake an orange bottle in his hands. It made me a bit nervous upon seeing it in his hands, but he seemed to have no intention of using it the way I'm thinking, so I guess that's good.

But there's always still a chance.

Hello Children!

I have so many good things planned for this story. I have a whole google doc full of ideas, conversations and so on! This is the most effort I've ever put into a story before. Although, I've gotten this bad habit of thinking that if I'm not writing, I'm being lazy, which isn't very true. I'll get out of though.

As always, reviews, criticism, and anything above, please share!

-Craigory