A/N: This one is a little shorter. But I think it covers everything it was meant to cover :) Hope you guys enjoy.

Chapter 4

January 8th

Lies spread faster than a wildfire in California. Which is to say, remarkably fast. Eric wasn't prepared for the backlash that hit him on Monday when he stepped into the hallways of South Park High. He had thought himself prepared; had spent all of sunday building up his walls so that whatever words or phrases were sent at him crashed directly into it. And yet, he found himself feeling accutely aware of the crumbling bricks when he first saw the redhead.

Already, Kyle was beautifuly irate. His face was crimson, his eyes a stormy jade, and his curls were, for once, pulled back from his face into a small poofy ponytail. He wore one of Kenny's old t-shirts from the beginning of high school, and his pants were probably the same ones from saturday. Eric didn't pay that much attention to how he was dressed per say. After all, he had other things to worry about.

"Asshole!" Kyle hissed slamming his locker. The resounding clang did something negative inside of Cartman. It sent shudders down his spine, but not in the way that Kyle's anger usually did. This was bad. This was not what Eric Cartman wanted.

Because Kyle Broflovski wasn't mad. He wasn't even livid. He was hateful.

There was something new brewing inside of the green eyes as they looked around. Something poisonous to only one person, and Kyle had pinned him under the most unpleasant lower that Eric had ever seen. Even he hadn't managed to get something so fueled to be pointed at anyone.

"You fucking asshole." Kyle seethed jerking his shoulders forward as if trying to make himself seem smaller, but angrier. He was curling in on himself; creating walls that no one could break down if he didn't want them to. And Eric had the most irrefutable feeling that Kyle didn't want anyone touching the walls right now.

"Me? An asshole?" He forced a cocky smirk to his lips. His shoulders raised themselves as he crossed his arms. He knew it would piss Kyle off more, but he would rather have that anger, than nothing from the redhead. "What crawled into your sandy vagina?"

"Fucking bastard!" The redhead whipped his fist foorward so fast that Eric's head nearly spun quite literally. Pain blossomed over his cheek bones, and shattered his senses. His vision garnered black spots in the corners that were quickly making their way to the center of his vision. He could hear the voices all around him, screaming something incoherently, but none of it made sense inside his mind. Nothing that anyone was saying or doing seemed to make sense. It all happened in a blur.

"Fuck, Eric?" Kenny's voice was what broke through the fog. "Eric, shit, you okay?" Someone in the background had mentioned something about something being broken. No fuck, Eric thought to himself as he tried to force his eyes to focus on the blonde. "Shit, okay, lets get you to the nurse dude." The blonde shoved at the redhead, sending the green eyed boy a glare of his own.

The look of shock and hurt on Kyle's face was not to be missed. It was a brilliant display; as beautiful as seeing the Russian Ballet perform a classic rendition of The Nutcracker. But the hurt was geared towards Kenny, because Kyle didn't understand. He didn't remember what had happened on Saturday—the alcohol had made sure of that, but the Ketamine certainly helped.

"Back the fuck off," Kenny snapped at Kyle. His arm wrapped around Eric's shoulder as he lead the pudgy boy down the hall towards the nurses office. "She's going to ask what happened."

"We say I wasn't paying attention and walked into a locker." Eric flinched as blood flowed heavily from his nostrils. In an attempt to staunch it, he tilted his head back and pinched the bridge. He recalled somewhere in his memory that someone had mentioned it was the best way to get the blood to clot without intervening with his breathing.

"You're pretty venomous to yourself, ya know that?" Kenny sighed softly steering Eric down a hall to their left. "If you'd just let him see..."

"Let me cut you off there," Eric ground out shaking his head. The pain radiated lightly outwards, causing him to stop. "Kyle can't know that I'm nice. No one can, because then who would the high school hate collectively? No one. They would turn their anger on the actual prospects, and all would go to hell. I wouldn't have any control of the situation."

"Maybe that's better." The blonde slowed his steps as they approached the closed door of the nurses office. "Maybe you don't have to control everything? Maybe, Eric, as hard as it is for you to believe, maybe you deserve to be happy for once?"

"I am happy." Eric grunted eyeing the door. Just a few steps past it was the doors to the school. Would it be worth trying to sit through the day? Would he be able to handle the hateful glares, and scornful scowls that Kyle would no doubt send? Or perhaps the redhead would be confused. Maybe, instead of the anger that Eric had come to enjoy, he would feel something else towards the brunette. But that would mean change, and Eric wasn't quite sure if he was comfortable with that idea.

"You are the worst kind of liar," Kenny chuckled with a shake of his head. He probably knew the other boy better than anyone else in the god forsaken town—not that Eric would admit it. But there was something about the whey haired teen that allowed Eric to be himself; to open up and show that he's not who everyone thinks he is. But that also made him dangerous. It made him impervious to the reputation that Eric was basing his whole personality on.

"No," Eric sighed shaking his head softly. "I'm the best kind." He forced himself to by pass the nurse and her copious amounts of pain medication to walk out of the doors. It was just one of those days where he couldn't force himself to endure; couldn't force himself to be convinced that it was a good thing for the town to have something they can all hate simultaneously.

For once, he felt like it was too much. And he wanted to escape. He wanted to get out of town, and travel to a place where no one knew his name. For once in his short life, Eric Cartman didn't want people whispering his names while they pointed at him. But had that ever really been him? Could he lie to himself, and force himself to believe that he was the concieted jackass that everyone portrayed him to be?

The answer was no. Definitely not. Eric Cartman finally wanted to change, and he was stuck where he didn't know how he could force himself to change. Who else would he become?

"Eric, I'm being serious though!" Kenny called out rushing out the door to catch up with the brunette. "If you don't open up, and tell him soon...or do something..." He groaned and burried his thin fingers into his blonde locks. Eric knew that Kenny hated being put in tight spots; especially when it came to his friends. And Eric had never intentionally meant for it to happen. Hell, Kenny wasn't even supposed to find out that Eric Cartman fucking cared. It was supposed to be a secret, and one that Eric held close to his chest. But the blonde came sweeping in just after a rough argument with Kyle in middle school and he knew. Those fucking blue eyes knew.

"It doesn't matter if I do or not," Eric sighed fumbling for the keys in his pocket. "He won't listen. You know him...and it wouldn't be just him. Not everyone can read people, Ken."

"I know," The blonde whispered sighing softly. "I just wish..."

"Wishing is for the rich." Eric chuckled glancing over. The weight that loomed because of the conversation was all too much. It was building up as a pressure just behind Eric's eyes. "And you are far from rich, po' boy." Kenny snorted rolling his eyes. His hand automatically reached out and shoved the brunette into the car.

"Here, dumbfuck. At least le'me drive you to the hospital."

Eric simply nodded handing his keys over as he drug the seatbelt across his chest. There was a lot of think about; a lot of unsaid words that sunk into his brain and waited. Images of him doing just what Kenny suggested fluttered through his mind. Visions of Kyle glaring at him while a storm raged in the background, before his eyes softened and he understood.

Kyle pursing his lips as he frowned at him from up on the top of the bleachers. Then, the inevitable smile that came after. It was sickeningly sweet, and nearly gave him a cavity. But he would hide it; even if a dentist looked in his mouth, he would make sure the doctor didn't see it.

Hell, Eric would even let it fester, and fizz until it became an infection and killed him. Because he had a reputation to live up to.