Midday on an early June afternoon, the temperature was equivalent to the outer rim of the sun. The rays of scorching sunshine swept over the cracked, faded sidewalk of the suburbia nightmare that was middle South Park. The green and blue houses marking the street seemed to gleam passionately as Kyle dropped down on the stony steps leading up to his house. His curls were hanging in his eyes and he honestly wished he'd been intelligent enough to grab a bandana. Yet, he hadn't, so he slumped to the side, into one of the white side railings his mother had insisted his father install to 'prettify' the Broflovski place two years beforehand. On this overindulgent structure of middle America, he rested his forehead as he tapped his fingers on his breakfast/lunch of the day; an oversized slab of Swiss milk chocolate wrapped up neat and tidy in a golden wrapper. He felt the chocolate beginning to melt, so he cracked open the package and took a bite from the candy slab. The sweet sensation on his tongue almost improved his mood. However, he continued to find himself glaring up the whitewashed illusion of the street to the distant home of his closest friend.

Despite his warnings of it, Stan had managed to blow through the fifty dollars in only two days. He hadn't been specific about what he'd spent the money on. In fact, he had walked about the entire twenty minute conversation as if he was trying to get off the phone from the moment he had called the Jew. Kyle, of course, hadn't been pleased. He has tasted the delicious desperation of the activist and he had tried to keep him on the line. There wasn't much of a reason behind it. Kyle had just listened to the pleading for an 'advance' on Stan's 'allowance' in the name of love for a certain blond ruffian. All he had heard, though, was the burning desire to twist the little brunette around, to make him squirm, to make him beg for the cash as if his very life depended on it. As it was, Stan had sharply ended the begging phone call with a short 'I'll be over soon' and then Kyle had been left seething to an empty caller id.

Nevertheless, Kyle had dragged himself out and onto the steps in order to wait for Stan. While he wasn't keen to be outside in that tremendous heat, he was much more inclined to be outside rather than inside. His mother was out running errands, but his father had the day off from the firm. Just the fleeting thought of that man, bent over his paperwork, his pen scratching over the paper in thick, heavy, pounding lines was enough to make Kyle's throat dry out. His teeth clenched as his fingers dug into the chocolate. He saw Gerald bent over, his hands moving, the scratching echoing in the still air. The hot air. The burning white hot slick air that pulsed and grabbed at the throat and the pen was writing out the words and the sound, oh, the sound as those metallic hands etched in and cut out. The Jew jerked his head to the side at the memory, at the disgustingly vile thought, his eyes taking in the windows covered with such thick drapes. He didn't recall looking back, but he was, and he couldn't see inside, and knowing who was home and who wasn't, he knew he didn't need to be seeing that. Swallowing hard, then, he ignored the acid churning in his stomach as sweat ran from his neck to his back. Kyle's knuckles were blanched as he removed himself from the presence of the house with the windows to nowhere.

The compressed embers within burst into open flame, washing his mind in a blinding haze of licking fire. A shaky breath was drawn in, where the taste of dirt lingered, and then exhaled in a breath of sweet candy. The heat of his flesh descended in steady intervals there after as his emerald eyes traced honey lines over the pavement. The taste of sweet danced over the melting embers within, drawing Kyle's mind seductively away from the darkness. His mind was overcome by the moonless waters of the evening as the honey demanded his attention. A smile traced its way over his lips as he pulled those wicked orbs from the depths of the empty waters. A surge of heat brought to mind the Nazi with the honey eyes of light topaz orbs in a face so wickedly sweet.

Slowly, Kyle reached into his pocket. He pulled out his green cell phone from it and flipped it open with his thumb. The image of a golden Star of David blinked up at him as he switched screens and pulled up his messages. His eyes read over the short, haunting words from the depths of the depraved. A melody danced along his mind, the words of the card game leading to the ballroom floor singing into the air. The lingering frightened feeling faded with the warmth that came from reading those words. Softly, Kyle smiled to himself before he snapped the phone shut again.

The message vanished as if it'd never been.

From the opposite side of the world, Kyle heard footsteps heading in his direction. His head turned to see Eric Cartman strolling up the sidewalk, his hands folded behind his cropped locks. The Jew watched him walk over without an ounce of surprise for the sudden arrival. Rather, he apathetically tilted his head upwards as the Nazi made his way over. While Kyle appeared empty towards the meeting, Cartman seemed quite the contrary. He cast the redhead a catty smile as he waved, coming to a stop in front of the steps to the Broflovski home. There was a second where Kyle took in the washed out jeans and the black tee with some repose. The next, his mouth was tense and his eyes were hardened. Still, Cartman was immune to his less than charming welcome.

" 'Sup, Jew?" the Nazi happily greeted him, holding his hand up in a half wave. The action was as feminine as anything, although it somehow managed to seem less than girly. Kyle considered not acknowledging the greeting. However, the lick of heat over the back of his neck prompted him to speak.

" Hey, Cartman," he casually said, his head turning away in the same motion in which it titled towards the heavier boy. Cartman waved his hand off to the side in a flitting motion that meant nothing in actuality. For the moment, though, it was a cast away thought, a discarded idea, that wasn't addressed by the either of them. Instead, the Nazi directed his eyes to the unbearable sunshine that seared the world around them.

" Why're you outside on such a pretty day?" Cartman asked plainly, without a notable emotion to his sweetly falsified tone. The texture of those words was similar to sandpaper, as they were hollow, dead, and flat. A shiver slipped down Kyle's back as he arched an eyebrow. There was a tension brewing within, as he raised his emeralds up to those sugar eyes observing his every motion with a hungry stare.

" Most people are outside on pretty days, Cartman," Kyle hissed in a less than impassioned tone. He felt the pressure along the inside of his blood, piercing into his throat, but he didn't see an invitation. The brunette smiled again, his body language as deadpan as his fake voice. The Jew's throat went dry. The heat was running over his flesh, as he waited in stiff silence. A finger was pointed down at him in a strikingly cold manner that sparked his white hot lusts for rivalry.

" Not you,"

What a calmly, callous answer, really.

" What'd ya mean, 'not me'?" the Jew sneered in rising timbre which unwittingly reflected the rush that overthrew his faintly disappointed memories. Cartman leaned back slightly, his smug smile tracing burning fingers through the redhead's blood. A pulse of roaring, screaming fire threatened to ignite their conversation in hesitating wait.

" You're always inside," Cartman replied effortlessly, his shoulder shrugging away the burning words of the other. Kyle felt a sick punch to the embers restrained against his desire to debate. The teasing notion of the lighthearted Nazi was nearly too much to bear as Cartman shifted his girth from one foot to the other, his hand tossing away the invitation Kyle longed for, " Readin' an' shit,"

" I have a job, okay?" Kyle snapped defensively, his hands gripping the chocolate. Quickly, he glared off to the side as he heard a dejected sigh. The emeralds eased back over to see those honey orbs cascade into a beautifully mastered eye roll of sheer 'whatevah'.

" Yeah, I know. It's a stupid job. Keeps you busy," was the faintly unimpressed answer presented in place of the biting spitfire Kyle had expected. Cartman even coupled it with a knowing smile reminiscent of leather and lace, ice and fire, the moonless nights of burning hell mixed with endlessly frozen waters. That smile, that deathly ghastly smile, enraptured the soul suddenly ablaze within Kyle. Fire delighted his flesh as he slipped his shoulders up, his body melting backwards to gain a heightened look at the intoxicatingly devious stare cast over his Jewish curves. A light, barely there, smile moved over his wet lips as he saw the way Cartman grinned down at him with such delicious tease.

" I'm always busy anyways," the redhead moved to strike before drawing in a breath. Thinking better of it, for the desperation to be invited instead of holding out his own slender hand, he puckered his lips and poised his own burning, tantalizing withdrawal, " What's it matter if I'm at work or at home?"

" It's hard to bother you at work," Cartman innocently explained with an absentminded shrug that was a lie in and out of itself. Kyle saw that and he saw so much more in the way those tasty eyes watched his every motion. There was tension twirling through the air on fire, performing the waltz they were both tip toeing around, their gems awaiting the hand that they were refusing.

" You do pretty damn good job anyways," the Jew snarled, his teeth bared in venomous threat. The snide remark melted in the fires between their universes as they both chided the other in everything but words. The withdrawal was withholding all the emotion, but Kyle drowned in the bubbling magma all the same. He felt the scorch in his blood as he wet his lips in a toying manner.

His words were so wicked, they had to be received.

The Nazi shrugged, folding his arms behind his back in a truly arrogant way. Kyle opened his mouth to sneer another harsh, off collar comment to further gather his chances at the dance he had been dying for since last he had seen this particular racist. Instead, his voice was stolen. A touch of burning hot, frozen wind washed over his skin in the telltale pressure of the cold fingers of death walking over him. Those eyes, those damning eyes, they darkened to a sickness of color whose shade was inhuman. There was a penetration to their stare that was total exposure. When they eased like honey from Kyle's bloody red curls to his leather bound boots, they gripped his very flesh and held on with a pressure so real, it drew from the Jew's mouth a shallow, halting gasp. They moved over him four times. Every time was a confirmation in stillness, in cold, unadulterated precision the likes of which Kyle had never experienced. His body stiffened to the enthralling revel of such an examination before he choked on his words, on the very air itself. Doing so, however, caused Cartman to smile in a grin so twisted, it marked a new measure of the word in physical terms.

Yet, there was no hand held out to the shivering Jew.

" Didja hear 'bout BeBe?" Cartman calmly asked, unfolding his arms and motioning off in the vague direction of the Stevens girl's house. Kyle nearly passed out from the shocking shift from their prelude to the completely irrelevant gossip at hand. In truth, he fumbled his words as his emeralds narrowed in wild confusion. As he realized that Cartman hadn't tried to pursue him, though, the confusion was quickly replaced with a much stronger emotion.

" What about BeBe?" Kyle spat out in fresh rage at having been denied. The bite slipped away, lost to the Nazi who didn't appear to sense it. Cartman coyly gave the vicious gaze the cold shoulder as he continued to deflect from the screaming match Kyle was itching for.

" She's 'sleeping' with Token," he informed the redhead, making air quotes as he said the presumed truth of the hearsay. Failing to find interest in this, Kyle broke off a tiny chunk of the candy bar. It was slightly melted, but he didn't mind as he ate it. His slender shoulders shrugged, as if he wasn't sure what to say.

" Isn't Token dating Wendy?"

" How should I know?" the racist questioned without needing to question. Kyle knew this, from too many conversations containing the same sort of words and directions. Thus, he didn't say anything. All the same, Cartman answered himself, as he so typically did when talking of others, " Wendy and I aren't friends,"

" You're not friends with BeBe or Token either," Kyle spitefully reminded him, pointing up at the heavyset boy. Cartman waved off the notion as though it meant nothing to him. It probably didn't, which was disappointing to the mildly angered Jew. He wanted to thrust an insult in hard enough to draw blood to get his pretty honey rival to take the bait and throw him onto the ballroom floor for the next round of their endless tango.

" Yeah, but BeBe's bff is a gossip," the brunette responded, unaffected, as Kyle expected. Kyle pursed his lips in a physical effort to restrain the scream coursing through his enflamed blood. Cartman smirked down at him, his eyes glittering with common knowledge to what he was withholding by this frustratingly petty discussion.

" You?" the Jew scoffed in what he knew was a weak attempt. The Nazi wasn't impressed in the slightest. He fluffed back his elegantly styled hair and gave a short laugh as cold as the wind that had swallowed the flames.

" No. Clyde,"

" You're not friends with Clyde either," Kyle snapped, gesturing to the wide belly of the other. Cartman gave a crystal cold smile as hard as ice, as sharp as the razor that drew the blood fires from the Jew suddenly frozen from the simple implications of that malicious grin. That pull, that desire, to pierce into that smile and draw out the bile nevertheless drew harsh words from his dry mouth, " In fact, you're not friends with anyone in the entire graduating class except for Butters. And Kenny,"

" And you,"

The words scorched through the air like embers striking spilt vodka.

" We're not friends," Kyle firmly stated in the emptiest voice death had ever conceived. His eyes held the hollowness which resounded through the entire solemn death which consumed the whole of his being. About him, he was surrounded by the darkness that flooded his senses like a white out of the senses. Left dead, he slowly closed his eyes, only to open them to the blinding sunlight in a shockingly sudden burst of realization that time had not ceased.

" I have ways," Cartman airy expressed, shrugged and waving his hands in the same fluid motion. Kyle blinked and frowned, the emptiness fading faster than it had come. He gave the Nazi a look of reproach he had learned from that same Nazi.

" You're a gossip. That's your way," was the curt reply he offered the brunette. If Cartman heard the bite, he ignored it with professional ease, for there was nothing that changed about his whole person.

" Yeah," he almost laughed when he agreed. Rather than actually do so, though, he merely grinned down at the Jew with perverse enjoyment written clearly in his honey eyes. He didn't dare hide the intrigue from his falsely sugar timbre, " So, tell me what's up,"

" Why? So you can go an' tell anyone who'll listen?" Kyle hissed without an honest need to do so. The question was a buffer, a shield from answering the suggestion. He shouldn't have blocked, of course. He saw the gleam which befell those eyes as Cartman heard the open ended questions too. The answer he gave them was simple and honest, as the Jew knew it would be.

" No,"

" Then why the hell do you wanna know?" he barked although his timbre didn't change in pitch, only strength. The demand wasn't met by rough words, however. To his utter surprise, Cartman's eyes sank into a darkness which echoed a frozen hell without end. The murderous intention there was powerfully real as the Jew found his breath scarce. Those topaz stones moved over the length of Kyle's body with a heaviness that frighteningly mirrored that of before. Shivering, shaking, Kyle hesitatingly broke off a piece of chocolate and pushed it into his mouth. The sweetness did nothing to ease the tension.

" 'Cause it's you," the Nazi cooed as his eyes slipped back into their honey disposition. A sliver of ice remained in them, though, and it was not something Kyle missed as he rubbed one hand over his arm, " I like knowin' about you,"

" Freak,"

" You're the Jew here," Cartman haughtily teased, flicking his wrist in the direction of Kyle's curls. The shivering cold Jew swallowed enough of the fiery air to grit his teeth in rage at the commonplace mockery. He flipped the bird and hissed the only answer he had to such a normal insult as of the last eleven years of his young life.

" Fuck off,"

" Gimme a bite," the brunette completely sidetracked from the rising fight as effortlessly as he did anything in his life. His eyes showed no remote awareness of having done so, though. Somehow, that made the fires pulse with much more fury than the real dismissal.

" Hell no," Kyle couldn't keep his building rage from his voice. The white heat spilled out with vengeance, spiraling down through his timbre like an infection unchecked. His body was caught in the crossfire, for his eyes fell into the depth of the pitch black hatred for this game as his fists clenched slightly. The worse, though, came with his snarling response to the request, " The last thing you need in this world is more chocolate,"

" Just a bite?" Cartman wasn't asking so much as he was baiting. His smile held all the answers and none of them as he gazed down through the haze of smoke. A flare hardened Kyle's entire expression as he gripped tightly the bar resting in his lap.

" No. You'll eat the whole damn thing," he hissed, allowing his fury to slice into his words like knives. There was nothing within them, though, to cause the Nazi to push forth into the dancehall. He continued to grin as Kyle growled deep in his throat, jabbing a finger in the direction of that overfed stomach, " I know this whole routine. I've known you since we were four Cartman,"

A step forward was taken as the smile disappeared in a minute look of vile disgust for the same routine Kyle bared his teeth at. Cartman's knuckles blanched as his anger engulfed his honey orbs for a second. A second, though, was all it lasted as Kyle defiantly cast a glare upon that face. Again, a denial, for the Nazi let out a sigh. He flexed his fingers before running them through his loose hair. The step was not taken back. Still, there was nothing left to strike at, for the look that held fast in those sugar sweet stones was not the deathly poised stare Kyle was longing so passionately for. Thus, Kyle exhaled a sigh himself as his eyes moved to the side in remote, isolated self pity. Removing it from his pulsing heart, however, Kyle angrily jerked himself onto his feet. He didn't address the racist before him, watching him. He merely looked down the street, past that broad shoulder, in search of his best friend.

Stan was nowhere to be found.

" You share your other chocolate," Cartman idly reminded him, flitting his hands through the air to ensnare the attention he didn't need to try to receive. Those emeralds decidedly stared away, down the block, to avoid being so much closer to the toxic pleasure of seeing the hands of death in those innocently shaded eyes.

" My other chocolate is free. This costs money," Kyle slowly, softly, said, his eyes raising steadily up to meet the topaz hue watching him so magnificently. A touch of burning heat lapped over his lips, drawing them into the briefest of smiles meant only for those decadent orbs, " I'm not giving it to you,"

" Why?" the response was dishearteningly childish in tone. The flames that overthrew Kyle made him snarl and jerk his head away as his eyes narrowed coldly.

" Because it's mine, dammit. That's why," he snapped in definite agitation to the merry-go-round playground he appeared to be caught in. Cartman snickered under his breath, his head lowering so that a dark shadow was cast about his already darkened eyes. The chuckle, however, was like the sound of an axe slamming into the neck of the condemned. It grabbed hold of Kyle before he could think of defending himself from the worse of it.

" Trying to get fat?"

The crescendo crashed down in an explosion of fiery thunder all around Kyle as he physically recoiled from the scathing hand which grabbed hold of his. His flesh was seared from his bone in the rush of boiling metal that all but consumed his throbbing heart. Yet, for all the fire, there was nothing to be said in acceptance of such an all foreboding request. The tremendous music that deafened the smile of the man bowed before his wide, horrified, disgusted, enraged emeralds was the sound of his own heart. He wanted to scream, to grab that hand and slam it's beautifully formed knuckles into a stake. There was nowhere to go as the music slowed to an eerie silence, those honey eyes gleaming through the haze which bound Kyle to the spot. He neither accepted, nor declined, in his state of unparalleled shock.

Cartman didn't await his reaction to make his next move into the waltz. He reached through the fire and tried to snatch a piece of the chocolate. A trap, it was poised so perfectly, that Kyle felt his feet moving into the dance as that man swept him into the motions. He hardened his face as he quickly jerked the chocolate behind his back and out of the reach of the other. The look to his eyes was forced acceptance as the hatred coursed through the blaze.

" You can just go now, okay?" Kyle breathily hissed through his teeth, his hands gripping that candy with everything he had within. He desired nothing more than to leave this man. Still, he couldn't, for the invitation was far too intoxicating as he felt himself swept up in the dance he had so deeply wanted to fall into. Cartman appeared to know this as he smiled with noticeable pleasure written about his wildly malicious eyes.

" You're so sensitive," Cartman whispered in a passionately sweet voice as he tilted Kyle's face up a fraction of an inch. The fire within scorched through the restraint and the Jew felt a burning sensation rip apart his throat in a vain attempt to stop the fury of the words in his throat. He quivered in the fiery touch of those delicate fingers, thus catching his words in a mixture of shrieking hatred and fumbling heat.

" Fuck you, okay? The last thing you need is chocolate, so don't even with me!" he screeched, his voice breaking even between a hiss and a scream. There was tension there which shone through as his body was spun through the motions of a altogether new dance. Cartman beamed down at the eyes fighting so hard to remain poised over those viciously hungry orbs of sugar.

" Says you," the Nazi whispered without a trace of honey to his light timbre. Every word was a piercing needle that thrust into Kyle's heart and spilt his blood over the ballroom marble floors. Kyle felt his body flare in ecstatic ember the moment when Eric pushed a finger into the weight gathered at his waist. The touch was like fire personified, the words like lust verbalized, " You're getting chubby,"

" Like hell I am!" the Jew roared, his voice breaking through the barrier. He yanked out of that hauntingly warm grip in his vile disgust for such statements. Cartman was wholly unaffected. Rather, he was deeply engaged to the reaction, drawing closer for it with a familiar smile wrought with empty promises.

" You are. Lookit yourself," he breathed out slowly, sweetly, as he pinched Kyle's plump cheek. The emotion consuming those gestures was too much for Kyle. He smacked that hand away with every fiber of his enflamed body, his eyes falling to darkness. An expression of pain was uttered as the Nazi gazed down at the bloody red mark splashed about his hand. A small shake of said hand was given before that same deathly sweet smile coursed about those lips. Cartman reached forth again, only this time, he wrapped his finger about a curl and twirled it with frightening amusement, " It's cute,"

" SHUT UP! I'm not gaining weight!" Kyle screamed, his body shaking uncontrollably in his desperate effort not to fall to the inferno pressing into the blood already engorged in fire. Still, he couldn't stop himself. He slapped that tender hand away with a hollow smack before pointing an accusing finger at the mildly shocked face of the other. The fire rolled out as he grabbed hold of his rival and jerked him into the motion of his own hellfire, " And really, you're not one to talk!"

Everything cascaded into a truly physical stillness. The words crashed into the air with splatter effects which broke through the flesh like glass breaking. Cartman's whole being went utterly motionless, though his eyes befell a darkness of sheer rage. There was a second without a response, without a word exchanged, where the music ceased to play, the dancers ceased to move, and the floor ceased to exist. There was no fire, no flame, nothing to strike against. Kyle was left in a frozen realm, his eyes staring at a blank emptiness, for that was all he found in those orbs. They were hollow, a hollow unlike anything else. Death itself could not have stolen Eric any more than at that moment when he ceased to be. There was not a word to express the horror which washed over the Jew when he entertained the shocking realization that his counterpart was not within those sweet, luscious eyes. Then, with the smallest shake of the head, those eyes returned to the depths of pulsing, engulfed hell. Gritting his teeth, the Nazi snatched up Kyle's wrist with a grip like the hands of death himself.

" Fuck you, Jew!" he shouted with a voice as painfully furious as the grip which threatened to shatter Kyle's wrist. The Jew cringed, struggling to get away as his arm was jerked up, twisted, in blind rage which he felt dancing along his skin in a burning melody. A gasp escaped his mouth as he yanked his arm back only to have it gripped that much tighter.

" Ow! Let. Go," Kyle ordered, his body sinking back to pull his screeching wrist from that hand which held it. Slowly, he raised up his sharpened emeralds in a heavy, cold stare oozing a bleak darkness from the core of his soul. Cartman gritted his teeth, his eyes flickering over the gaze which burned up from the abyss. Wetting his lips, then, Eric released the Jew's arm. A deep impression of those fingers was left, but the pain vanished in a white wash of blackened hatred.

" You're just pissed you're gettin' fat," the Nazi snarled, a smirk laced with arsenic forming on his face. There was sickness to that pleasure, to the joy derived from that lingeringly horrid statement. The fire swallowed it and the embers bred from such fury drowned Kyle in a blindness so pure, it was whiter than whiter, hotter than hell in all the unholy manners. Pain soared through the racing blood within as the scream broke free the restraints.

" I'm not GETTING FAT! SO JUST SHUT! UP!"

The words cascaded into uncontrolled movement that far exceeded the dance floor within the fire's den. Kyle's entire body yanked back before his fist slammed into Eric's arm with an incoherent scream stressed from the fire churning inside his blanketed skull lost to the delicious release. The chocolate clattered to the ground with an empty sound as Kyle clenched his teeth hard enough to feel it throughout his jaw. A jolt of pressure echoed from his knuckles as he gasped, his body beginning to shake as the fire pulsed to his every heartbeat. Beyond his sights, Eric flinched in morbid resolve, his feet stepping slightly back. Those honey sweet eyes were cut ice of the pools of death as they descended from the holy heavens to the shivering redhead forsaken. The pressure within struck the tension outside and they both cringed as their eyes, the stones of green and gold, met in the depths of darkness.

The hiss which penetrated this oblivion was such a pretty envelope.

" You're such a bitch,"

" DON'T CALL ME A FUCKING BITCH!" the Jew thundered, ripping one hand to the side. Those honey eyes watched for a second in heated hellfire before Eric blinked and his eyes left Kyle. There was nothing to be done. The fire expressed itself in a roaring agony as the redhead gasped and shook, his fists gripped tight to contain the rage building, bubbling inside like acid. His head lowered while his eyes widened from the thrust, the pull, locked within his throbbing skull. Every inch of his flesh tensed to withhold, to repress, that which demanded so much of his attention. For all his hysteria, Eric showed none of it. The calm that swallowed his mask of hatred was frighteningly unreal. Then honey befell horror and the step back was removed and a step forward was taken as two hands raised.

Eric smashed his palms into Kyle's chest with such a considerable force that the Jew nearly collapsed to it, both in stunned shock and pain alone.

" Don't fucking tell me what to do!" he screamed before he tasted the metal melding over the air in the burning desire to shriek, to damn, to destroy. There was nothing beyond those topaz orbs as the metal licked upon them both. Baring his teeth in unadulterated rage, Eric grabbed hold of those slender shoulders quivering beneath the unprecedented inferno inside. The Nazi thought not of the pain of doing so, however, as he slammed that Jew back, shaking him with every drop of the hell inside his empty eyes. He tasted it and he wanted it and Kyle felt it in every damning jerk, " Come on! Don't hold back, bitch! Fight back!"

Kyle gripped those wrists with determination to remove them. He found nothing within the molten core to allow him to do so. Rather, his jaw tightened, allowing his fingers to plunge down into the soft flesh holding him so furiously. His nails dragged along Eric's flesh while his head slowly, stiffly, painfully, shook from side to side. Another shake was given, one that racked his back with agony as he gasped into the engulfed air that pressed upon them with such hatred.

" You're pathetic. I don't know why I put up with you," Eric hissed without contempt, although there was nothing to his voice to suggest otherwise. His hands released those shoulders with a cast away look that cut through Kyle with a shocking jolt similar to the pain in his shoulders. The Jew tore his fist back, but caught himself, as the fire echoed in his emeralds, as he tried so desperately not to fall into the engulfment threatening to consume all he was and all he had ever attempted to be. That total annihilation, however, tainted the heated air between. When Kyle gasped, he felt it on his tongue, knowing that the Nazi did too. He barely saw Eric step back before there was a hesitation neither of them expected, " Fight BACK!"

The words couldn't possibly of hurt nearly as much as the slap which slammed across the Jew's face, but how they pierced into his burning soul.

Kyle unclenched his fists in the shock of it, of the strike that melted his face with fiery agony. Thick, fat drops of blood oozed off his slender fingers to fall to the porch. Slowly, his head lowering as he steadily breathed, the Jew raised up his hands in what felt like surrender. The holes plunged into his flesh from his grip shone in the hot summer sun, the blood seeping from them with a disgusting thickness. The blood smoothed down his wrists as the fire withdrew with a haunting lost of heat. Plunged into the depths of the lightless waters, Kyle felt the crack beyond his eyes before all hell smashed into his blood like a firestorm. A scream tore from his throat as his hands crashed forth into Eric's chest.

" DON'T TOUCH ME! " the words pierced through the air with every resounding crescendo of the music surrounding the ballroom burning in all the colors of the hottest hells. Blood smeared over Eric's chest, but he only gave what was needed in the way of space, stepping back to the pressure.

Eric laughed heavenly with all the maliciousness of the holy.

" There's my Jew," he exclaimed, cupping the face which glowered up at him in the worst fury. Those words, those words, they grabbed hold of Kyle as he felt them echoing from the depths of memories eaten by the inferno. His teeth bared and he yanked his body away from the gentle touch condemning him.

" YOURS? YOURS! I DON'T BELONG TO YOU!" Kyle roared, his hands gripping into the holes so that his fingers sank in the fire licking at every thought. Those topaz eyes hardened in their darkness as the smile vanished from that beautiful face. Kyle found nothing within for it. He grabbed up that silky shirt and he dragged his Nazi down to his level. When he spoke, his voice rolled with fire that melted into the air, " Put up with me? I'm the one that has to put up with you. And I'm about tired of it,"

The shirt was released as Kyle pulled back one hand into the depths of the embers quickening his pulse to such all consuming natures. His body shook then, as he fought against it, the darkness choking him in its attempt to drag him to his final collapse. Seeing those eyes, those man's eyes, from beyond the dance floor, a hand extended for his own, however, there was nothing left to see. His teeth gritted as his mind detached from his body in a breaking cascade of fire beyond the sense of the word. The element was all there was as all of the lives smashed into the blood of the screaming Jew, the Hebrew screeching into the air from beyond the grave, from the pit of the fire.

Eric felt the engulfing inferno break before he had time to react.

Kyle's hand connected with Eric's face. The slap left blood streaked there as it splattered into the air. The Nazi was still, his fingers reaching up for the briefest of seconds to touch the agonizing reveal of the internal workings of that gasping Jew. The sickness formed itself into a hellish smile, though, as he rubbed the thick blood from his cheek. His eyes glanced down at his cherry red fingers as a soft, haunting chuckle was given.

" My, you're feisty today," he teased lightly, although his voice was less than playful. Kyle closed his eyes for a second, shivering to the curling of his fire withdrawing from the present moment. A long, low breath was drawn in as the last shiver slipped down his spine. His eyes slowly opened then, in a dark gaze up at that grinning face with such sweet sugar eyes.

" Go away, Cartman,"

His voice trailed away without much emotion as his emeralds fell down on his hands still seeping their thick blood. Droplets fell from his knuckles to the cement below without a sound. The red was shocking against the grey stone. Wincing, Kyle bit down on his lower lip, watching that color fall from his hands. Before him, Cartman stepped close. The Nazi reached out and took those damaged hands in his own. He held one at a time, then, as he dabbed the wounds with his shirt until the clotting ceased the blood flow. Just as gently, he did the same to the other one. His touch was as tender as it was gentle. Cupping those delicate, little hands, Cartman leaned over and Kyle felt the kiss that never actually touched his head for the pause that followed. Rather, that Nazi smiled softly as he leaned away. The Jew drew in another deep breath as he returned his stare to his bloodied hands. Beyond the streaked remains of blood were light scars of a similar fashion. Slowly, Kyle turned his hands over and just gripped the edge of that stained shirt. He was not removed. Instead, he was lightly embraced as Cartman nuzzled his blood red curls, his fingers petting them with such tender love.

" I don't like it when you hold back," he whispered into those curls, his touch stroking Kyle's cheek just faintly. The redhead shook his head to nothing that was said, which was well known to the Nazi. When he stopped, his voice didn't address anything of this conversation. His words were not lost, though, to the ears that listened to his every breath.

" Stop it,"

" It worries me," Cartman idly said as he twisted a curl with a light smile resting on his lips. Kyle looked up at him, wrapping his broken hands in that shirt. He wanted to rest his head on the Nazi's chest, as his mind was dizzy from the spirally lost of control. He resisted, though, as he shook his head, feeling the gentle tug upon his hair.

" It never worried you before," he reminded him without ever mentioning the event itself. A light laugh was presented as a hand cupped his face. Kyle was then lost to those sweet eyes that traced every line of his young face. The warmth of those fingers was intoxicating as the embers found his blood with a cold chill that made him shiver, his emeralds desperately gazing at the honey he found so haunting.

" Things change, my Jew," he breathed out in that lovely voice of his. His finger stroked down Kyle's cheek before he gaze him that gorgeous smile of his. The Nazi was honest, in that moment, to which Kyle found himself falling back into the pools of the moonless waters. His curls were stroked, petted, as his hands released the tangled shirt.

Softly, gently, Kyle rested his hands on Eric's stomach with pained eyes.

" Not everything changes," he just barely uttered, his voice falling into the graces of hollow. The fire never embraced his words, leaving them cold and dead as they left his tainted tongue. Cartman withdrew slightly with a pouty expression that was almost as playful as Kyle's voice was empty.

" Ouch. Harsh,"

" The truth hurts," the Jew reminded him with the same timbre. Cartman frowned at the words, his head tilting to the side. Within moments, though, that frown was replaced by a certain wicked grin. He flitted his hand away from those softly curled locks to motion to the redhead's waist. His gesture was met with a harsh stare of pressing warning, which, of course, he ignored.

" Like the one about your weight?" he asked without real question to his voice. Kyle returned the statement with a jerk of his head that was meant for no one outside of his own mind. There was no doubt that the Nazi was well aware of the fact, for he never mentioned it.

" There's nothing about my weight," Kyle snapped with unmistakable finality. Cartman didn't seem remotely appeased by the sentiment. When he opened his mouth to protest, however, he was cut off as the redhead switched the conversation to something a bit closer to a home he was willing to discuss. He did so with a slight shrug of the shoulder and the beginnings of a callous smile, " Didn't you have a doctor's appointment today?"

" How'd you know 'bout that?" the Nazi wasn't asking, as his smile was all knowing and about as innocent as his darkly delighted eyes were. Kyle presented him with a similar expression, though his was tainted by much more arrogance. There was no need to address how he had, regardless of their innocent desire to dance about it anyways.

They both knew how he knew. They just also loved the push and shove of pretending they didn't.

" I have my ways," Kyle causally informed him, shrugging yet again. Cartman cast a hard stare away, towards the direction in which he had originally been heading. His voice was not nearly harsh enough to incline that he was really angry, but the amount of venom underlining it spoke volumes that were not for the two of them to discuss then.

" Fuckin' Butters,"

" Who said it was Butters?" the Jew pressured, adjusting his footing so that he was a fraction of an inch closer to the weight he drummed his fingers on. He cast that Nazi an off collar chuckle before looking away, his emeralds gazing down the street towards the train tracks. Never once did those topaz gems leave his face as he glanced back, " Could've easily've been Kenny,"

" Kinny didn't know," the brunette told him without any tease to the words. Still, he grinned as he watched Kyle look back up at him. There was a second where there was nothing said, nothing implied. Then, with all the firmness he had, Kyle admitted to everything without ever saying it.

" I don't talk to Butters," he assured him, staring directly into those sweet sugar eyes. The grin which answered his affirmation was as malicious as murder and just as horribly wicked. Cartman chuckled under his breath before he gave Kyle's plump cheek a tender, loving pinch.

" Careful," he warned him in a softly silk voice that slipped over the Jew's flesh like the hands of death. Cartman leaned closer still, pressing his forehead lightly into that of the shorter boy. Their eyes gazed deep into the others, lingering fire igniting the stare as they both grinned innocently, " People might think you're stalking me,"

" I told you. I work," was the only response given, spoken in a nearly serious tone that meant nothing to either of them. Cartman rolled his eyes with that expertise he had perfected long ago. Then, waving his hand in dismal, he leaned back so that Kyle was left feeling the ice of being alone.

" Whatevah," the Nazi spoke with a touch of absentminded finality, as if he didn't honestly care which way the Jew steered the conversation. The elegance in which he said it, though, drew from Kyle a soft, admirable smile. He nodded lightly, then, as his hands fell away from the heavy arch of Cartman's belly. The glittering emeralds stayed resting on it, however, as he shifted from one foot to the other. Cartman didn't seem to mind, for he said not a thing. The Jew drew in a heated breath after a moment as his eyes steadily raised to meet the sweet honey eyes which watched him looking at that girth.

" So?"

Kyle left the question without clarification. It wasn't needed.

" So what?" Cartman innocently chided, grinning that smile which had destroyed so many of this Jew's nights in a cold sweat and frightening moonless memory. Kyle played along with the route chosen, motioning with both hands to the Nazi who seemed to content to infuriate him. The lightest brush of heat washed over the back of the redhead's neck as he gave nothing away in his poised questions.

" What's the damage?" he tried again, without using the words he felt pressed into his sick tongue. Cartman shrugged idly, holding his hands out in a cast about way that was mimicking his childish manner of teasing the other.

" 'Bout twenty bucks. Co-pay, you know?" he said with that same smile. A rush a fury fell into the blood of the Jew as he jerked a hand from his side. He jabbed it at that fat face with a noticeable measure of rage to the motion. His anger wasn't acknowledged, for the Nazi grinned at him like he was truly enjoying the show.

" Not what I meant and you know it," he spat out venomously, his hand jerking back to his side in a cutting motion that was as tense as the air dripping off him. Cartman gave him a fake little look of surprise before his eyes melted beyond the sugar and straight into the iced chill they held when he held someone under. He gave a slow, low laugh that rolled over Kyle's flesh like burning flames scorching into his very essence.

" Oh? What did you mean, Kahl?" the Nazi darkly asked in a slow, honey sweet tainted voice as cold as the ice hardening his eyes. Kyle was lost for a word to express his desire to back up as that formidable rival of his leaned down, grinning as he waited for a way to string up the little Jew. A deathly cold rush swallowed up the fear, however, and Kyle was left shivering in his own inferno burning within. He hissed out the question without formality and without any more warning to its existence. He was getting trapped up in this spider's web, lest he be slaughtered in the hellfire of falling into it.

" How much do you weigh?"

" This again?" Cartman plainly said, leaning away as if he hadn't heard the question long before it was uttered. There was a lack of interest for the discussion with hinted at total removal of that sugary damnation. Kyle gritted his teeth to the white fury of such an idea. He shook his head, waving his hands to either side as he stepped a bit closer. There was determination wrought in his voice, despite the fleeting fear that flashed through the embers.

" I wanna know," the Jew stated firmly, hands clenched at his sides. Cartman gazed down at him with a lick of contempt, although there was a hint of amusement that seemed to overshadow it. There was not, however, an inkling provided for the origin or intent of either emotion, " How much do you weigh?"

" I gotta get to Butters'," Cartman said instead of addressing the repeated question. He gave a lovely roll of honey as his hand waved off the question with a certain air of resolve not to discuss this further. As he turned to leave, though, Kyle felt his fire jump through his blood. His hand grabbed up that plump wrist, holding fast and hard enough to gather him a disapproving stare.

" Wait,"

" Yes, Kahl?" the Nazi implored, raising his eyebrows in what was obviously mock interest to whatever it was that Kyle might have to say. Slowly, the Jew released the other, his emeralds darting from side to side in frantic desire to find something to say. A flare of fire jolted his mind and he ripped his harsh stare back up to the sugary look he was being given.

" Maybe I can give you something you want," he suggested with a faintly enflamed smile of devious intention. The look cast his way was nothing flattering, but it couldn't diminish the smirk snaking its way onto his fair face.

" Like what? You? Not interested," Cartman further accented the statement by a sweeping motion of hand that was notably dismissive of the emotion he might have even remotely felt towards the attempted bribe. Kyle was not deterred, for he quickly shook his head. The churning fires within swallowed the insult for a later day as he raised his hands to the weight gathered at the other's wide waist.

" No. Something. . . more your style," Kyle offered, his eyes never leaving the blood stained shirt stretched heavily over that stomach. Eric arched an eyebrow and gave a chuckle, his hand motioning to the side in a word that was never verbalized. Kyle heard it resounding in the playfully coy words presented to his offer.

" I doubt you could afford my clothes," he assured him, resting his hands on his hips in a wholly arrogant stance. Within the Jew, he felt the tightly wound molten core unfurling as his blood burned. Taking in a deep, heated breath, Kyle moved his eyes back to the grinning face observing him.

" I'll give you chocolate,"

" You already do," Cartman reminded him with an absentminded shrug that meant nothing. Kyle wasn't put off. Rather, he smiled with all the fire brewing deep within his rushing blood. He moved his hands to emphasis his point, though they didn't move in any real direction.

" Expensive chocolate,"

" Like the one on the ground?" the Nazi questioned, pointing down at the discarded slab of chocolate forgotten on the steps. Kyle turned his eyes towards it as Cartman made a face, waving his hand in front of his curved belly, " No, thanks. Been there, done that,"

" You've eaten chocolate off the dirt?" Kyle repeated in honest surprise, his eyes widening as they jumped from the candy up to the bored expression of the Nazi. Cartman gave a shrug while the Jew glanced to the side in isolated confusion, his mouth repeating the statement. Looking back, he crossed his arms over his chest, " I thought only Kenny did that,"

" Eh. It was a dare," he explained without explaining further. Kyle blinked, almost waiting for the rest of the answer he already knew wasn't coming. Again, Cartman waved off the notion, " It sucked. No, thanks, Jew,"

" I have another one up in my room," the Jew assured him, pointing offhandedly towards one of his bedroom windows. Cartman looked upwards, towards the window gestured to. When he looked back down, however, there was a definite smirk to his callous expression. A gleam danced over the sugar of his eyes as he thumbed towards the window with the dark, heavy curtains in green.

" Did you jus' invite me to your room?" his voice was darkly mischievous as his eyes narrowed with poised delight. A wall of fire seared through Kyle's soul, jerking him backwards and his hands up to fight against nothing that could do him any true harm. His voice poured out like burning water, for it struck the air with defiant fire and scorched the both of them in its desperate fury to be heard for the desperation in which it was wrought.

" No. I didn't," he spat out, despite the truly dead expression on his face. The hollow look to his emeralds was fearful to observe. To Kyle's horror, he saw Cartman looking at him with intrigue. Ending it quickly, he shook his head and jabbed a finger at that massive waistline, " I offered you candy because I wanna know how fat you've gotten,"

" And why should I tell you? You'll tell everyone," Cartman sneered, the honey of his eyes glancing one last time towards the room he was denied from accessing. Kyle drew in a harsh breath of noted frustration, his hands clenching at his sides. The Nazi eyed him with mute amusement, although there was a lingering sense of removal from the moment.

" I didn't tell them last year. Or the year before that. Or the year before that. I don't know why I have to bribe you this time, actually," the Jew snarled, his agitation clearly expressed in every spat out word. Cartman didn't seem to be bothered by the mention. However, he did look down when Kyle motioned with both hands towards the rolling curve of that middle, " Then again. . ."

There was no need to finish the sentence.

" First of all," Cartman snapped, pointing down at the suddenly flustered Jew. He counted off the statements on his fingers, his rings glinting in the sunlight as they were tilted back, " I don't know that you didn't tell anyone. Secondly, you're a ginger, Jersey Jew, so I don't trust you without collateral,"

" You used to trust me," Kyle dejectedly muttered, looking at those rings tightly held on those pretty, blood stained hands. Cartman wagged a finger in his face, shaking his head with a lovely, falsified pucker of lip. The softest of smiles crossed over Kyle's lips at the look granted only for him as his cheek was pinched with great tease.

" Ginger. Jersey. Jew. I never trusted you," he chided him with all the good natured humor that he ever held for that certain Jew. Kyle blinked slowly, peering up at that shining expression through the blood stained curls that fell into his face. Through the depths of dark waters, he plunged like the corpse, his voice as hollow as death and as empty as the soul he had never seen in those topaz orbs.

" You did that one time,"

The words of taint cascaded into the freezing air between the two as Cartman's expression fell into the ice. His eyes left the trace of sweet in a drop to the deathly darkened topaz shade. There was nothing, however, to those gems. Not a trace of life resigned in them for a moment's breath, where Kyle shivered and stared in horror at the murder within. A small shake of the head, though, and those poised eyes were darkened with all the resentment of the Nazi's entire being. He gripped his hands tight, his teeth gritting in the rage that swam over his previously light eyes. Kyle almost withdrew, but there was no withdrawing words already spoken.

" An' look what happened,"

Kyle slammed his hands over his ears as he violently shook his head, stepping backwards and shaking badly. A rush of fire consumed his core as his breath caught and choked in his throat. He shook his head again, again, again, as he gripped his hair and bit down on his lower lip. Slowly, he steadied himself, staring through the crystals and the blood to that hauntingly empty face watching him relive that horrid day in the summertime so many years ago.

" I don't want to talk about it," he begged in a strangled voice, his knees threatening to buckle beneath the weight of that day. Eric stared at him without reproach, without love, without anything but the emptiness which had echoed throughout that house when the front door had slammed shut and everything had ended without a trace of truth between them. Kyle removed his hands and he almost reached out as he had almost back then. He didn't, though, for he heard the darkness in the words spat in his direction. Beyond them, he heard that younger voice snapping at him, at him for what he'd done then.

" Yeah, I bet you don't,"

" I made a mistake," Kyle softly whispered, his hands falling heavily to his sides. Cartman gazed down at him with a stare so powerful, it nearly crushed the Jew. Then, as if the words had never been spoken, as though the day had never been lived, the Nazi turned his head and waved it away with a flick of his wrist.

" So, I get chocolate? Expensive chocolate? What'd you give me last year?" he asked, glancing back without any lingering mention for the day they never talked about. Kyle drew in a cold breath that burned the back of his throat in spite. Exhaling softly, however, the hollow fear vanished to the ruling fires licking underneath.

" I bought you lunch," Kyle reminded him, his timbre returning to the callous sternness of before. Cartman seemed to take a moment to think about it, before he gave half a shrug that was almost unconcerned.

" Okay, fine. Deal,"

" Okay," Kyle repeated, taking in a deep, steady breath that was nearly painful to draw. He poised himself for the question, then just said it as he usually did, his voice nearly emotionlessly and blank, " How much do you weigh?"

" I want the chocolate first, Jew," Cartman interrupted, holding up one of his hands in a stopping motion. There was a second of silence as Kyle stared at him in bewildered shock, his eyes narrowing in said confusion. Unable to find the words, however, he said the only thing he could to fully express his utter disbelief to the demand made.

" What?"

" I don't trust you," the Nazi restated, his voice holding a unique mixture of contempt and amusement under the seriousness. The Jew, while impressed, neither acknowledged the emotion nor the statement. Rather, he jabbed a finger back towards the window that led to his green stained haven.

" I'm not going all the way to my room, because you won't be here when I get back," Kyle snapped without reserve for how cruel his voice turned out. Nevertheless, Cartman wasn't affected. He didn't seem to hear the tone as much as he tilted his head to the words. He gave a small chuckle as he pointed a finger at the glaring face of the shorter boy.

" You're pretty smart for a Jew," was the deflective answer presented to the question continuously left unanswered. Kyle refused the bait. Instead, he made a halting motion with both hands, allowing the fire to return to his darkened emeralds. He rested a damningly penetrating stare upon the seemingly unimpressed eyes that looked down at him.

" Look. Last year, I was good to my word. I took you out to lunch after you told me. I promise I'll go and get you the chocolate after you tell me," Kyle swore, holding up one of his hands out of childish habit. Despite the action, there was a strictness to his voice that was livid with liquid flames. The heat was unavoidable as it slipped from his tainted tongue to the air about them, " I don't break promises. You know that,"

The assurance was met with a pause. Cartman thought it over as Kyle crossed his arms over his chest in defiance to something that was neither mentioned or addressed. After the pause, though, there was an elegant roll of honey followed closely by a casual shrug that meant really nothing more than defeated agreement.

" Okay, fine. Whatevah. Deal,"

" Okay," Kyle stated with finality that expressed his desire to finish this. He nodded his head before taking a last deep breath. Slowly, he exhaled, holding out his hands as though bracing himself for something he wasn't ready for. All the while, Cartman looked upon him with empty eyes, " How much do you weigh?"

Silence filtered into the heated air as Cartman sighed heavily and seemed to find nothing to say towards to expectant look the Jew was giving him. The break of the emotionless look, however, frightened Kyle. He saw a flicker of contempt, then the all consuming look of slight fluster as those eyes closed to the answer. A sharp breath was taken, though, and all vanished in a slamming halt. When those honey eyes opened, Eric was as calm as he ever was, his eyes darkened in vile disgust for having to say something that his voice said he didn't even feel within his dead soul.

" Three eighty three,"

Horror befell the Jew as he recoiled from the Nazi with emeralds written wide in shock. He gaped at the empty emotions observing his reaction with stifling indifference. Slowly, Kyle mouthed the numbers he choked on as his head swam in a sudden drowning pool of hollow nothingness. He motioned to nothing, lost inside himself to an emotion without a name. Within seconds, he was nothing, but he spoke in a voice from the grave. An emotion of cold sickness ensnared his senses as he stood still, his eyes staring forever at the face that bore him nothing in the way of comfort to the still fear of his thudding heart.

" What?"

" Three eighty three,"

The stare of the Jew rested heavily on those topaz eyes, begging for words that would never been spoken to him in a sweet voice. There was nothing presented to him, leaving him the hollow disease eating through his blood and reaching his mind. The life from his emeralds slowly diminished as he stood there, frozen in place, to the rotten illness which robbed him of his very breath. A moment passed in which the Nazi continued to stare, before his head tilted in mute realization that Kyle had slipped into his familiar state of shock. Before anything could be done, however, a tremor slid down the redhead's back. His eyes raised to those honey one in solemn fear.

" You're joking. . . right?" Kyle expressed in a faint voice, his eyes softening to the emptiness which looked down at him. His voice did nothing to change the look presented in answer to the question he had pressed for.

" No,"

The word was left to the frozen air about them, for it was meant with a long stance of silence. Kyle found himself incapable of processing it as he slowly hugged himself for the warmth of his own flickering embers. Cartman poised no assurance nor any ease to the frozen abyss in which they were both quickly descending. The fires within soon were not warm enough to save the Jew from the frost which licked over his flesh in a hauntingly familiar way. Refusing the memory of the summer day, he slightly whispered the only answer he found within his trapped mind.

" . . . Oh,"

The word fell heavily into the stillness as Cartman continued to look down at Kyle with that painful indifference. Then, suddenly, he smiled a shockingly pleased smile as he reached through the void to reach the dying flames of the Jew. He lightly, tenderly pinched Kyle's plump cheek with all the tease of before.

" You'll bring the chocolate to my place later?" he asked with all the command of an order. His honey words ripped through Kyle like shards of shattered glass, but he couldn't find the fire to express anything outside the numbness which had overtaken his mind. Slowly, then he looked up at those eyes as his cheek was steadily warmed from the lingering pain of the pinch.

" . . . uh-huh. . . ."

" Funny how things work out, huh, Kahl?" Eric teased with all the dark sweetness of his disgustingly vile nature as he gave one of those bloodied curls a tug. Smiling his disturbed smirk, he petted those curls with a tender touch. Then, without another word, he strolled on by, heading down the block in the way in which he had been heading to begin with.

Watching him leave, Kyle slowly collapsed down onto the blood splattered steps of his wishfully empty house on that sunny summer day. His body was an empty numbness that was unimaginably painful to experience, although there was not a thing he could do to rid himself of the agony. Slowly, he began to chew on his index finger, drawing his legs up a few more inches. His emeralds stared off into the distance without ever taking in the horizon. The blankness left his face empty of all emotion, as he felt nothing to begin with. To the consuming waters, he did fall, leaving not a trace of the remains of his murder.

Beyond his eyes, he heard the words of the past dancing along the gorily ember bound ballroom floor with the black floors like a moonless, motionless lake. Those vile words that forever tainted his tongue lingered in his mind like a memory repressed seeping back forth to be painfully reviewed by a mind that had never recalled it before. He saw the honey eyes of that face, staring at him with the only ounce of trust they had ever found within that green bedroom. The words of the confession, the terrible confession, found their way to Kyle's mouth then as he sat there, five years later. Squeezing his eyes shut to the tears, he bit down against saying them. They never should have been said then, they shouldn't be said ever again. He choked on them, but he would not repeat the words Eric had whispered to him the night they had kissed for the first time.

He never should have asked.

Through the faded traces of the nightmare, Kyle heard footsteps making their way over. Glancing over, he saw dirty sneakers and ink stained jeans approaching before he heard the massively loud voice of the greeting he had heard a million times before. Somehow, right then, it didn't sound human.

" Hey, dude. What's up?" came Stan's voice as Kyle slowly raised up his head to see the activist standing before him. His friend waved down at him with happy energy that began to steadily fade as the Jew tilted his head towards him and towards the light of the day that didn't know.

Blood dripped from his lips, from his teeth, from the gaping wound on his hand from the missing flesh.