Cartman had always been an angry boy growing up. He spent most of his time shouting demands at his mom and yelling insults at his friends. But there were only a few times when Cartman had gotten truly pissed off.
It was as if it had all happened in slow motion. Kenny had started to run up to the boys when trouble first became apparent. They couldn't hear what was being said, but they had started to argue, and Kenny muttered something about stubborn assholes before taking off. Cartman wasn't too worried; Kyle and Stan had yelled at each other in the past, and nothing really came of it. But when Kenny arrived at the scene, things started to fall apart. Kyle and Stan both tried to get around Kenny at the other. Wendy shouted at them to stop, and had started to run toward them. Cartman followed.
He was halfway to them when it happened. They had fallen, and Stan was screaming at Kyle. He could hear him, but he couldn't understand the words. Kenny tried to pry Stan off of Kyle when the unthinkable happened – Stan shoved Kenny, and he stumbled into the street.
Cartman knew it was going to happen seconds before it did. He opened his mouth to warn Kenny, but they both knew it was too late. They locked eyes for a second, and Cartman felt a shiver of fear trail down his spine. So many things had happened lately that could have disrupted the delicate balance that Kenny walked between life and death. What if he didn't wake this time? What if that was the last he'd see of his best friend?
And then the car slammed into Kenny, and Cartman watched in enraged silence at Kenny bounced over the hood and slammed into the pavement. There was so much blood. His friend was dead.
He snapped. He was angrier than he had been in a long time. And he knew exactly who to blame. He screamed, enraged at the injustice, his vision blurring, and ran toward Kyle and Stan, who were still frozen on the ground, staring after Kenny.
"You bastard!" Kyle shouted, his eyes still locked on Kenny's lifeless form.
"AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!" Cartman roared, slamming into Stan. Stan flew off of Kyle, and Cartman landed on top of him. He started punching him, his brain only faintly acknowledging Kyle and Wendy's yelling behind him.
"He's going to kill him! Make him stop!" Wendy shrieked.
"Cartman!"
His blood boiled. Stan didn't deserve to live. He had caused so many problems. Kyle was shouting at him, grabbing onto his arms, but he couldn't slow him down. Stan killed Kenny. He wanted Stan punished for everything he had ever done, and he could easily do so.
Kyle suddenly grabbed onto his face and forced him to look at him. His eyes were intense – scared, sad, and determined. Kyle's eyes were the only thing that didn't seem blurry.
"Cartman, stop," he said firmly yet softly.
And he did. His body stilled, which surprised him given the intense anger that seemed to permeate his entire being. His breath was ragged, and he realized his hands were shaking. Kyle's fingertips were soft against his skin, but they too seemed to tremble, if only just slightly.
"He killed Kenny," he croaked.
"Yeah, I know, but it was an accident, Cartman," Kyle said evenly. "Come on, get off of him."
He numbly let Kyle help him off of Stan, who was groaning and clutching at his bloody face. Wendy quickly dropped to her boyfriend's side, crying and dabbing at his face gingerly with the corner of her shirt.
Cartman felt sick.
He sat next to Kyle, trying to slow his breathing and calm down. He refused to look back at Stan or the road. Kyle placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Cartman was suddenly hit with the realization that Kyle was the most amazing person he knew.
Cartman sniffed, his eyes wet from grief and anger. He went to wipe away the tears, but his hands were covered in Stan's blood. He stared at them for a second, feeling strangely satisfied. Kyle reached over and wiped one of his tears away. Cartman pulled his eyes away from his still-shaking hands to look at Kyle.
Finally, his vision was starting to focus. He noted how insanely pale Kyle looked, and how his shirt was crumpled and soiled. His hair was sticking up strangely on one side, and he certainly didn't look as calm as his voice portrayed him to be. He gingerly wiped another tear from Cartman's eye, his thumb lightly brushing against his skin.
"This is going to end," Kyle muttered, the words sounding tired but determined.
Kyle pulled away from him and stood, facing all of them. "This is going to end," he repeated, his voice gaining even more strength. "We can't keep doing this. We're destroying what was once a good friendship. Hell, Kenny just died because of it. What the fuck is wrong with us?" He looked between them all, but no one offered up an answer.
Cartman glanced at Stan and Wendy. Wendy had stilled in trying to clean up Stan's face, and he was holding his jacket sleeve to his nose, most likely trying to stop it from bleeding. Stan looked pale, and Cartman was glad.
"I'm done. I'm fucking done. If we don't fix this now, and I mean, right now, we're screwed. We have too much good history between each other to let it all end like this. We are going to band together, like it or not. We are going to fucking get over ourselves. Stan – I'm gay. Get over it. Cartman – I know you want to kill Stan. Hell, I fucking want to kill him too. But you can't. And you won't. And for me… I accept that you're homophobic, Stan. I'm over it. And I forgive you for killing Kenny, because it was an accident. This fight is just as much my fault as it is yours. So I'm sorry for everything."
"I'm sorry too," Stan responded weakly, his voice sounding a bit nasal. "For everything."
"Cartman?"
"What do I have to be sorry for?"
"Cartman!"
"He fucking killed Kenny!"
"It was an accident."
"He was a douche bag to you."
"True, but he apologized."
"Apologizing won't bring Kenny back."
Kyle closed his eyes, obviously frustrated. "Cartman, I swear to god, you better apologize right now."
Normally Cartman would have told Kyle to go fuck himself, but even in his angered state, he knew that probably wouldn't be the smartest solution. He didn't want to push Kyle away, especially now.
"M'sorry," he grumbled.
Stan blinked in shock, looking between Cartman and Kyle. Cartman just wanted to punch him in the face again.
-.-.-.-.-.
"I know your usual answer, but I'm still going to ask anyway… do you want to talk about it?"
Immediately following the incident, they had all decided to split up so that they wouldn't kill each other. Cartman had quietly asked Kyle to come home with him. He didn't want to be alone, and for some reason, Kyle's presence seemed to calm his angry mind. They hadn't talked the whole walk to Cartman's, but they continued to be silent even after arriving. Now, they were in Cartman's room.
He wasn't sure how long they had been there. He couldn't stop thinking about all of the bullshit that had been going on lately. Most of all, he couldn't get the image of Kenny out of his mind.
There had been so much blood.
Kyle must have gotten bored. Cartman couldn't blame him.
"I don't know," he answered truthfully. He was lying on his bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Kyle was sitting, not looking at him. "I mean, I can't stop thinking about everything, but… talking isn't going to change anything."
"I guess you're right," Kyle replied.
More silence. Cartman didn't know what to say. What could he possibly say after a day like today?
"Well," Kyle sighed, falling back to lie next to him. "All I know is that this whole situation sucks."
Cartman snorted. "That's the understatement of the year." He glanced at his friend.
Kyle smiled, turning his head to look at him. "At least we have each other."
Cartman pursed his lips, looking back at the ceiling. "I would have killed him had you not been there."
"I know. I could tell by the look on your face."
"Did it scare you?"
"A little. But… to be honest, Cartman? I knew you would stop if I asked."
"How could you know something like that? I was really ticked off."
"I know because I trust you."
He looked back at Kyle. They locked eyes, and Cartman felt his stomach do the familiar flop it so often did in the presence of the red-head. He rolled onto his side, facing Kyle. Then, they stared for a while, neither moving nor making a sound.
He could tell that Kyle was nervous. Kyle licked his lips, and Cartman couldn't help but glance at his mouth.
Suddenly, Cartman couldn't take it anymore. He slowly leaned forward to see what Kyle would do. Kyle's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed a delightful shade of pink. Cartman took this as a good sign, so he leaned further in, closed his eyes, and brushed his lips against Kyle's.
It tickled a little, especially since Kyle's bottom lip was trembling slightly. He leaned a bit closer, kissing him gently. Kyle immediately kissed back. Cartman deepened the kiss, and Kyle brushed his cheek with his fingertips. It felt warm.
His hands quickly flew to Kyle's hair. God he wanted to do that for such a long time. He needed to feel Kyle; he was hurting, and Kyle could offer him the comfort that he so desperately sought. He played with Kyle's curls, while he flicked Kyle's bottom lip with his tongue. Kyle made a wonderful gasping noise, and opened his mouth for him.
Fuck, Kyle was hot.
He quickly slid his tongue in, exploring Kyle's mouth eagerly. Somehow it all felt right. Everything felt right. His hand trailed over Kyle's cheek, and down his neck. Kyle squirmed a bit, and shit, Cartman felt so turned on. His hand continued its journey down, and settled around his waist. He dug his fingers in gently, possessively…
"AH!" Kyle yelped, suddenly jerking away from Carman.
"W-what?" Cartman gasped, pulling away as well as Kyle grasped at his side.
"S-shit," Kyle muttered. "I-it's nothing…"
"Bullshit, it's nothing! What the hell is wrong?"
Kyle just shook his head. "It's not a big deal…"
Cartman instantly knew that it WAS a big deal, and he wasn't going to stop until he found out what the hell happened to his Jew. He grabbed at Kyle's shirt, which caused the red-head to squawk in surprise.
"Cartman! What the hell?"
He tugged the shirt up to expose Kyle's stomach and ribs, and he growled when he saw the skin there. There was a large bruise over Kyle's right rib, right where Cartman had grabbed him. There were also smaller bruises around…
"AH! Cartman!" Kyle protested as Cartman forced him up and tugged off his shirt. "What are you-"
"Who did this?" he demanded, seeing the bruises that also covered Kyle's arms.
Kyle stared at him.
"I know it wasn't Stan. Tell me who did this to you."
Kyle lay on his back, staring up at Cartman with wide eyes. He swallowed. "A group of seniors…"
"Which seniors?"
"That guy who almost attacked Jimmy, and also his friends…"
"Why did they attack you? Because you got that dumb fuck in trouble?"
"No… they did it because I'm gay," he explained. "Also… because I'm the reason the fad started up in the first place."
"When?"
"Um… the first time was Monday…"
"First time?"
"They've done it a few times now…"
"Why the hell didn't you tell me?"
"Because I… I… fuck." Kyle shook his head. "I don't know why… I should have told you, and I knew that before, but I just didn't. I'm sorry…"
Cartman sighed. He was angry that Kyle didn't tell him, but he couldn't really stay that mad at him. "Tell me all about it. Tell me every instance and what they did to you."
Kyle swallowed. "Well, they didn't hurt me, but last week Thursday they approached me. Just before things got too out of hand, Stan showed up and told them to leave me alone. Stan and I fought after they left. That Friday was when Michael antagonized Jimmy in the lunch room. So Monday, Michael and his friends came by my locker."
"What time?"
"Before my math class. They corned me… Michael grabbed me by the throat. It didn't really leave much of a mark. But just before he left, he hit me with his knee in the ribs."
Cartman suspiciously eyed Kyle's throat but let him continue.
"Then Tuesday, right before my last class, they approached me again. It was then that I got these." He indicated the bruises around his ribs. "Then today, they shoved me around a bit, but nothing as bad as Tuesday…"
Cartman silently fumed. How dare those assholes touch Kyle!
"I can't believe you didn't tell me," he growled, studying the bruises critically.
"I'm sorry," Kyle apologized again, his voice soft and sincere. "I really should have told you."
Cartman made a frustrated sound in his throat, settling back down on the bed next to Kyle. "I suppose I can forgive you. But the next time someone even THINKS about touching you, tell me."
Kyle snorted. "How will I be able to tell when someone is THINKING that?"
"You'll know. They'll be giving you a strange look."
Kyle chuckled. "You're so weird."
"Tell me though. Next time."
"Hopefully there won't be a next time… but I'll tell you."
"I'm going to kill those sons of bitches."
"Cartman, please don't. I don't want to be visiting you in jail for the rest of my life. But I agree that something needs to be done."
"I'll take care of it."
"I told you that I don't want you to go to jail, Cartman," Kyle warned.
"I won't go to jail. I'll just take care of it."
"No killing anyone?"
"Promise."
Kyle pursed his lips, but didn't push the issue.
They fell into silence again. Cartman started thinking about that day's earlier events, and suddenly frowned.
"So what did you two start fighting about?"
"Huh?"
"Well, we were thinking that you were making up. It looked like things were going well… and then you two started fighting all of a sudden."
"Yeah… it's sad, really, because we both apologized for everything, but then I freaked out. I touched his shoulder, and he looked like he was going to puke, so I asked him if I grossed him out because I was gay… He denied it, but when I demanded an explanation, he couldn't answer. I refused to believe him when he told me it wasn't it… Things just blew out of proportion. Had I just kept my mouth shut and not brought it up, Kenny wouldn't…" His voice trailed off, cracking slightly.
"It's not your fault." Cartman refused to believe that Kyle had anything to do with Kenny's death.
"But I-"
"No. It's not your fault."
Kyle nodded. Cartman wasn't really sure if Kyle believed him or not, but at least he wasn't arguing the fact.
"Kyle… Stan isn't grossed out by you."
"You don't think?"
"No. We've been telling you from the start – he's fucking attracted to you."
"No, he isn't."
"Yes, he is. Why do you refuse to see it?"
"Because, Cartman. Stan is one of the straightest people I know!"
"Well, you're wrong. He totally has the hots for you, and he doesn't know how to handle it."
"You really think that's why?"
"Shit, Kyle, sometimes you can be so stupid for someone who is so smart. Think about it. When Stan liked Wendy when we were little, he'd puke around her all the time. And when they started dating again in middle school, he would still puke around her, albeit not as often. He's gotten a handle on it since entering high school, but that's with WENDY. Then suddenly, you come back from camp all mega-sexy, and he couldn't handle it. From the second he first saw you he was about to lose it. Kyle, he's ATTRACTED to you, and he doesn't know what to do."
Kyle was quiet as he contemplated his words. Cartman just sighed. Kyle and Stan always had a close relationship, and a part of him worried that after all of this was over, Kyle would go back to being by Stan's side all the time. He didn't want to lose his friend to Stan, especially after what had happened. Cartman always pretended to be confident, but underneath it all, he was scared shitless.
He didn't want to lose Kyle. He loved him too much.