p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"strongChapter 9/strong/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"January 20supth/sup/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"Eric absolutely, one hundred and fifty percent refused to leave his room. He had turned his phone on silent, and ignored it everytime the screen lit up with a notification. When it buzzed with a phon call, he sent the person to voicemail. It wasn't very often that Eric wanted to hide from the world, but god damnit. Even he deserved his alone time./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"But Kenny god damned McCormick—and yes, Eric was sure it was written on his birth certificate that way—was going to make sure that Eric didn't get his alone time./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"The unfortunate brunette had just gone downstairs when the blonde barreled into the living room. All Eric had wanted was something to eat for breakfast. A quick cereal bar, and a soda from the fridge. Hell, he had even been thinking about going for a glass of juice instead. Just something to quench the morning dryness that stuck to the back of his throat./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"But, nope. Life hated him./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Cartman?" Kenny worried his lip between his teeth as he approached his friend. Eric sighed heavily, allowing his shoulders to heave with the weight of what was coming. He should have installed the lock his mother had been asking him to put in. He had put it off and put it off, and now he had to deal with the consequences. Kenny snuck in whenever the fuck he wanted./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""What?" A meaty hand drug itself down his exhausted face. Bags had formed and become quite predominant under his eyes. He was sure he looked as if he hadn't slept, and in truth, he hadn't. Why would he? He would have had nothing but nightmares about the whole damn school finding out about what he really wants. Or it would be about them finding out that he didn't do a damn thing that they thought he had./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Are you okay? Bebe and I..." Kenny glanced over his shoulder as if the other blonde had followed him in. Lucky for the brunette, there was no one there. Eric couldn't handle two people barging into his life at random, and exceedingly more often, intervals./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Get out," Eric sighed using a pointer finger to massage his temporalis. An ache had formed almost as soon as the blonde had opened his mouth. "Its nothing. Let's just forget everything, yeah? Can we fucking do that Kenny?"/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""No," Kenny pursed his lips and furrowed his brows. Determination lined his eyes, and made Eric's headache even worst. "No, Eric. We're not going to forget it because you need to fucking listen."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"The brunette scowled at the empty glass that sat in front of him. Was it worth it to deal with Kenny for a few seconds longer, just for a drink? He could just grab a can of soda and be up the damned stairs. He'd lock the blonde out of his room and enjoy his silence and solitude. It was what he deserved./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""You're not running away from this," Kenny dropped a hand onto Eric's shoulder and squeezed softly. It was an offer of comfort, but Eric really didn't want anything to do with it. "We need to talk."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Fine," Eric ground out pinching the bridge of his nose as he straightened up. "Fine. But you have ten minutes. Any more than that, and I'll kick your poor ass out of my house." Brown eyes fired warning after warning at the blonde./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""That's all I need," Kenny chirped clapping his hands together. The energy that he exuded was disgustingly intoxicating. It swept over Eric, and drowned him in its waves. "C'mon...sit down. Bebe will make you a real breakfast bro," Kenny grapped the larger boys arm and tugged him towards the table whilst he nodded to the other blonde that waited just outside the door./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""I'm not hun-"/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Shush," Bebe hummed softly as she began browsing through the cabinets in search of the cookingware. "You and Kenny talk. I'll make eggs and some pancakes. And then we'll all talk."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;"Eric simply sighed giving in. What else could he do really? He was getting too damned exhausted to really care. And maybe, if he heard the duo out, he would wake up in the morning refreshed and ready for the day. Or he would wake up, hear about a party, and find a whole new way to fuck it all up. That seemed to be his expertise as of late anyway./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""C'mon dude, sit." Kenny tugged the chair out from under the table and offered the spot to him. With a grunt of disapproval, Eric lowered himself into the chair that his mother had bought not long ago. Hell, she hadn't wanted to spend the money, claiming that Eric may need it. But he had managed to convince her—even if he had to go without lunch for a week. "You've got to stop."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Huh?" Eric's brows furrowed as he glanced up into worried blue irises./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""You know what I mean," Kenny sighed softly. He crossed his arms over the table and leaned forward. "You can't...You have to let yourself be happy. Man, you don't deserve all of the shit that is thrown at you."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""He's right," Bebe hummed over the sizzle of a heating skillet. "We talked a lot last night about you," Her hips swayed to an invisible tune that was no doubt buzzing through her head. "He told me so much...Eric...Why would you do that to yourself?"/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Why..." Eric scoffed a bitter laugh. Emotion was bubbling uncomfortably close to his surface, and he'd be damned if he was going to let it out without a fight. "Because. I fucking told you yesterday, big tits. Everyone needs someone to hate. I'm that guy for everyone in this god damned mountain town."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""But why? Why not let us hate each other? Who even put you in that position?" Bebe sighed softly blowing some of her hair out of her face. She reached into the fridge and pulled out a half empty carton of eggs. "How many do you want by the way?"/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Three," Eric grunted watching her move about as if she owned the place. "And because..." He rubbed his face and glared at the roof. He could feel it getting closer. If he gave it just a nudge it would explode from him like a fountain. It would gush down and drown everyone, himself included, in its disgusting nature. Bebe would start to feel guilty and would hug him, Kenny would understand but would do his best to comfort him. He would lose so many fucking points on who he was a person, and he was strongnot/strong very comfortable with that...at all. In fact, he was entirely uncomfortable with it. If given the chance to get out, he would hop on it like a pony and ride it out of town./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Because?" Kenny urged leaning forward just a bit. He wanted to know what his friend was going to say; wanted to hear the god damned wall break. "C'mon Eric...let us in."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""That's just it," Eric snapped. "I don't want to let anyone in because they'll fucking leave me. My dad left, my mom may be here physically, but mentally and emotionally she's blown all the way to fucking Mars. Kenny, you know me, so I don't even know why the fuck you even stick around. But when people hate me...it's like they won't leave. Like their anger anchors them to me, and god fucking damnit..." Tears had swelled in his eyes at some point, and one had even begun to leak out of the corner. His fist slammed onto the table as rage and embarassment and hurt all bubbled in his stomach. It was surfacing. If he couldn't reel it in soon he was going to lose./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Eric," Bebe whispered pathetically. It was all written on her face; pity. And Eric hated it, but god damnit, if he opened his fucking mouth shit was going to fall out and he wouldn't be able to take it back./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Man," Kenny reached out and braced a hand on Eric's forearm. It pulled the brunette back into the now, and out of his head. Even if it was only a temporary reprize. "That's...We don't hate you...We'd never hate you man. And I'm fucking immortal," This again. Eric nearly rolled his eyes at the statement. He knew that Kenny could die an infinite ammount of times, but everyone's luck ended eventually. The blonde would cut it short one day and he'd never come back. What would Eric do then? Kenny was his only fucking friend./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Kyle's worried about you too," Bebe cut in doing her best not to look directly at the scene. It was a moment between the two boys and she didn't want to ruin it. Instead, she focused her eyes on the sizzling edges of the eggs that she had cracked into the pan. "He's really confused about everything."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""He should just forget it even fucking happened, damned kike." Eric tugged his arm back, breaking the connection between him and Kenny. The blonde pouted a bit at the lack of contact, but pulled his own arms back. "It was a mistake on my part. I was too angry and instead of punching him, my fucking mind messed up."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""And that's why you saved him at the party?" Bebe chirped arching her brow. She knew. Fucking hell, she knew. A whole new type of feeling swallowed Cartman, and it's name was Fuck You from the wonderful Anxiety./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""What?" He could barely control the minor break in his voice./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Kenny told me," Bebe nodded towards the other blonde. "He tells me everything."/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""Kenny, what the fuck?! I told you not to!" Eric snapped at the boy in the orange parka. Kenny flinched a bit, but grinned at him toothily. Of course he told. Kenny never kept his fucking mouth shut. And Bebe was known for being a drunk talker. That was how he had caused a fight betweenher and Wendy last year. It was a stupid fight, but it was entertaining. Kyle had to hear all about it from Stan, and watching the redhead explode on his best friend was pretty amusing. But it was the way his green eyes sparkled for days after everytime Stan so much as waved at him./p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal;""She was giving me the best head," Kenny squawked in response. "I babble when she does that, and I was worried, and I couldn't help it!"/p