All through out my day I began to get bombarded with hugs and random people telling me how much I'll be missed.
Finally lunch time approached, and I met up with the guys by cafeteria doors. They each met me with a sad smile before the four of us went to our usual table.
"So the party tonight's definitely on! My brothers on his way to pick up the booze and he'll drop it off at Keith's when we call him. We do kinda have to pay him double the store prices, but whatever." Jack shrugs.
"I've got a whole list of people that want to see you off at this party, and words spreading fast." Keith added shyly.
"You mean you have a whole list of people that want to party." I corrected, shoving a fry in my mouth. They all seemed to roll their eyes in unison.
"People like you Eric, get over it." Jack smirked at me.
"Especially the girls! Oh boy Eric, they all seemed so sad when I was inviting them!" Doug added, hands fidgeting as he spoke. I raised an eyebrow. Was this a joke? Because it was stupid and hardly funny. After a minute of staring at them, Keith turned to Jack.
"He really doesn't know that he's a good catch." he whispered before laughing.
"Ok whatever, but what do I have to pay for this party?" I asked in annoyance. Even if they keep being dicks, it might actually be fun to get a little wasted tonight.
"Eric for gods sake, this is your going away party! Were taking care of it." Keith replied with a frown.
"So what your saying is that all I has to do is show up and get drunk?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow. That didn't seem right. The three just laughed at me.
"Yes! Come on, you don't want to disappoint all those girls that are hoping to get one last chance with you, huh?" Jack teased.
"So gay." I muttered. Jack and Doug gave a strange laugh, while Keith smiled through a light blush.
Through out the rest of the day I began noticing that the majority of random hugs were from girls; desired ones even. And it felt good. Not sexually, or in that way you feel when you screw someone over, but some other kind of good. Each one stuttered shyly as they told me that I'd be missed.
Finally it was the end of the day, and I found the guys out by the bus stop.
"Ok, so well head over to Keith's, my brother will drop off the booze, we'll hide all the valuables and breakables, and then around six people will start showing up." Jack went over the plan with a smile. We boarded the bus, and almost immediately girls started asking me to sit by them. I had never felt so uncomfortable, so I decline each offer before sitting next to Keith.
"Eric why are you leaving? Doesn't your family like California?" the girl sitting behind us asked sadly. I snorted a little, before Keith answered for me.
"I'm sure they do, it's just they have family and friends back in Colorado." he explained carefully.
"ok, well if your ever back in town, call me. I'd love to catch up!" she told me flirtatiously as she handed a sheet of paper up. I took it and shoved it in my pocket, not even looking to see if she had written a name.
The bus stops, and I follow Jack, Doug, and Keith down the street.
"Dude, that was Kristen Cooper!" Jack grins between me and Keith.
"head cheerleader?!" he pauses again at my uninterested stare.
"Christ, your impossible to please." he mutters as he walks ahead of us. I watch Jack and Doug walk a bit further away before Keith turns to me.
"Do you know when you're leaving yet?" he asks softly. I shake my head.
"some time in the next three days I guess." I shrug. There's a long pause before he whispers to me shyly.
"You know the head cheerleader's not the only one hoping to get one last chance with you before you leave." He blushes, and I feel my face heat up as well.
"Goddamn. Even after last night?" I looked down at him, my brow furrowed. He chuckles lightly.
"Especially after last night. A taste like that?" he's no longer looking at me, but I can see the deep blush on his cheeks.
"What if I call you Kyle again?" I nudge his arm teasingly. He shrugs.
"I can be Kyle for a night." when we reach his house, Jack's on the phone, with Doug seated patiently beside him. They stand up when we get close enough, and Keith lets us in.
For the next hour or so I'm laying back on the couch as the guys make the place a little less fragile. The doorbell rings, and Jack hurries over to it, handing his brother a large wad of cash for the bag of alcohol. As his brother walks away, Jack spins toward us grinning.
"Ok, we're getting a head start!" he reaches in and grabs us each a Mickey's. Doug and Jack sit on the couch across from me, and as I sit up to take the bottle from the table, Keith sits beside me. Suddenly Jack stands.
"To Eric Cartman!" he tips his bottle towards me.
"If it weren't for him, the three of us might never have met!" he grins at me, and I can't help but smile back. I hold up my glass.
"To me!" we all laugh, before chugging our drinks. We talked like that for a long time, reminiscing about my first days in California. It was a lot of fun, like a private birthday where drinking is the present. Before long however, strangers from school started showing up, all devastated to loose me. By midnight the place was packed, and it smelled heavily of weed and vodka.
I was shit-faced, and more relaxed than I'd ever been. I stumbled past the beer pong table, pouring myself another shot. I downed it and as I put the shot glass back on the counter, some chick appeared through the crowd. She licked her lips as she got closer. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was stroking my arm with one hand, and pressing the other onto my chest. She leaned up, moving the hand on my chest up to the back of my neck. So I shoved her; not a gentle one either, the girl was sicking me out. And as she walked away glaring daggars at me, I poured another shot.
"Dude!" Jack walked up to me.
"What?" I yelled back.
"I said dude! That girl wanted to fuck you!" he screamed practically in my ear. I nodded.
"Yeah and I wanted to drink! She was clogging up the process!" I grinned back. He gaped at me, but just shook his head.
"Keith! You think you can talk some sense into him?" he yelled over my shoulder. I stummbled as I turned to look at the boy.
"What?" he yelled back. I shook my head, handing them each a shot. A few more hours passed by, and the majority of people who hadn't left yet were passed out in random sections of the house. Jack was off trying to score with one of the chicks I had turned down, and Keith and I were alone in the kitchen. He handed me another shot.
"You know get me too drunk an I might black out before you can take advantage of me." I teased as I took the shot. He stared at me for a minute, before standing on his toes to whisper in my ear.
"Please Eric, I need to feel you again." great. Now I had to climb up stairs with a boner. I sighed in exasperation. He looked up at me nervously before I led him toward his room.