Chapter 5

The beeping of the heart monitor in the brightly lit hospital room was the only thing keeping Cartman's mother attentive. She stroked Cartman's hand back and forth with her thumb, staring at the wall. It had already been two days and there were no signs of her boy waking up at all. The doctors had been very thorough when examining him, declaring him "comatose and unresponsive", suggesting that he might have hit his head hours prior within the house and gone to sleep unknowingly with a severe concussion.

Liane couldn't help feeling horribly guilty. She had been out doing very explicit and disappointing things during the time that Cartman had this alleged accident, and of course she felt as though she could've prevented it. The damage seemed to be done however, and she knew there was nothing she could do for her son now.

As she got up to leave, she met her son's friends at the door. Her eyes were gentle as she forced a smile at them, pulling her bag a little closer to her. Stan's gaze softened as he stared back at Liane, seeing the paleness and exhaustion etched into her face as plain as day. He pursed his lips and looked away as Kyle stepped forward, Kenny close behind. The redhead dropped his school bag at the foot of the door and immediately took Liane's place next to Cartman's bedside.

"...There's been no news yet." Liane said softly as she turned and watched the three boys gather around Cartman's hospital bed. Her eyelids lowered and she swallowed a lump in her throat. "..I'm sorry, boys. I… I'm sure he appreciates you being here for him even if he doesn't.. If… if he can't…"

Liane covered her mouth and looked away, tears in her eyes. Kenny walked over and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Ms. Cartman. Why don't you get something to eat? We'll watch him while you're gone, I promise." He assured her as he let go. Liane nodded and turned away, walking off. Kenny closed the door with a gentle sigh. He had a feeling she wouldn't be back in a long while.

"This is fuckin bullshit." Kyle growled the second the three of them were alone, his eyes burning as he glared at Cartman's face. Stan looked over at Kyle.

"What is?"

Kyle lifted his head and grit his teeth angrily. "What do you mean 'what is' Stan? LOOK at him! What if he never wakes up?!"

"Woah, woah. Calm down Kyle." Kenny said softly. "It's only been a couple of days."

"Kenny he's in some kind of fucking trance." Kyle replied. Stan sighed harshly and Kyle glared at him once more. "What?!"

"I think you need to drop the cat theory, alright?" Stan said calmly and met the redhead's eyes. Kyle looked flabbergasted.

"Wh-... Really? Really, Stan?" Kyle demanded. "After everything you saw, after finding it DEAD on his head when we broke into his room?! It had been rotting for weeks!"

"You don't know that." Stan replied, eyes hardened. "It could've just smelled like that. Cartman DID take it off of the streets, dude. It takes more than a few days to clean up a street cat."

Kenny seemed to consider that and sat down on the edge of Cartman's bed. Kyle stood up in response, shaking his head angrily while the gears in his mind went wild.

"What about it's eyes, Stan? Huh? Since you're such an animal expert, why don't you explain THAT?" Kyle replied and crossed his arms. "You cant. Because cats don't have red eyes!"

"Dude, actually, dogs and cats could be albino. And they have red eyes." Stan suggested. Kyle grit his teeth.

"That cat wasn't fucking albino, it had black FUR!" He retorted.

"Maybe it just had an albino parent, dude. It could've been some weird mutation mumbo jumbo we learned in biology." Stan offered. "Like people with violet eyes. Remember? Patty has violet eyes because of some-"

"I know that I was there!" Kyle snapped and pointed at Kenny. "But Kenny said he recognized them like he saw it before or something!"

"...In a dream, dude." Kenny muttered and looked down. Kyle looked over at him blankly as Stan nodded and sat back in the metal chair.

"Yeah. See?" Stan agreed. "Dude, there's a logical reason for all of this. I'm kinda surprised at you, Kyle. You're usually the first one to look for a logical explanation."

"There's no fucking logical explanation about how Cartman was acting." Kyle growled, dropping his arm. "The cat came around the exact same time he did what he did. It doesn't make any fucking sense so it has to be something that doesn't have a basic or completely logical explanation, Stan!"

"Dude…" Stan sighed and looked away. "...Is it really that hard to consider what the doctor said?"

"What? About him hitting his head?" Kyle asked as if it was a ridiculous notion. "We were there like HOURS beforehand. He was at home, not playing basketball or jumping off of another roof to see if he could fly!"

"Yeah. But… The other thing the doctor said." Stan replied and looked up at Kenny. Kenny's eyebrows came down and he glanced down at his feet. Kyle looked between them confusedly.

"What?" He asked impatiently.

"A schizophrenic episode." Kenny replied quietly.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Kyle processed this, and he looked over to Cartman's sleeping face in consideration. After a long while, Stan decided to speak up as he watched Kyle think.

"...Dude, does it really seem that unlikely?" He asked. "..You know, after all the shit he's done? Maybe… Maybe we finally have a good explanation."

"No." Kyle growled, his hand curling into a fist. "That's just Cartman. That's just how he… It.. He's just… It's how…"

"...How he's always been?" Stan offered. Kyle looked up at Stan, his eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed.

"No. He never hurt me like… like that, Stan. Never." Kyle replied stubbornly. "I know him. Even after all that fuckin shit he did when we were growing up, okay? I know Cartman, and he would never do that to me. I'm still his friend!"

Stan stared back at Kyle silently for a few moments before looking to his other friend.

"Ken?" He asked. Kenny seemed to be in deep thought, his eyes going to Cartman's face. He shook his head and finally looked up at Stan.

"That wasn't the same. It was unusual, even for him." He replied. Kyle relaxed a little and nodded as he looked over at Kenny.

"Exactly." He agreed. Stan's eyebrows furrowed.

"...Wasn't the same as what?" He asked. Kenny's eyes hardened.

"It's not what you think, Stan."

"Oh, really? It's not?" He replied. "As if you guys know something about Cartman that I don't? We all grew up with him. I don't get why you're both making excuses for him like this. Like, it's not like that or no let's blame it on the magic cat."

Stan crossed his arms.

"Cartman's always had mental issues. For fucks sake, he hallucinated shit all the time. You're the one who told me that, Kyle. And now for the first time, a doctor was actually able to evaluate his behavior before Cartman could ruin his life like he did to all the other doctors that tried to hurt him, found schizophrenic tendencies, and both of you just want to write that off?" He continued and shook his head. "I mean come on."

"You don't know everything about Cartman." Kenny replied immediately. Stan glared at him in annoyance.

"You really think this is about not knowing him well enough?"

"Yes." Kyle piped up, meeting Stan's eyes. Stan looked between Kenny and Kyle, his eyebrows going up.

"I know Cartman." Stan replied immediately.

"You don't know him as well as you think you do." Kyle said and looked at Cartman's face. "Not on the same level as me or Kenny. And that's because we spend time with him."

"Are you serious right now." Stan responded. Kyle looked at Kenny.

"How often do you see Cartman not counting school or this week?" He asked. Stan scoffed and looked away.

"Well we do fishing day once a week and then he comes over and we work on my Dad's busted car on the weekend usually. That's what we were supposed to do yesterday." Kenny mumbled. Kyle pursed his lips and glared at Stan.

"Interesting." He said sharply. Stan glared right back at Kyle.

"You're really doing this, dude? You're really making this about me right now." He droned.

"I've been helping him rehearse for the school musical every other night for the last month and a half, Stan. Aside from that basketball game when we found that fucking cat, when's the last time you hung out with ANY of us?!" Kyle snapped, hands fisting in the sheets. Stan grit his teeth.

"Us?" He asked. "I thought this was about Cartman."

"It IS!" Kyle exclaimed and got to his feet. "Cartman might very well have some kind of undiagnosed mental problems, but he was never that violent towards me!"

"Cartman! Not violent!" Stan laughed. "Holy shit, Kyle! Are you even listening to yourself right now? What about the time he beat the shit out of Clyde for no reason?! Or when he SHOT Token! He shot him Kyle! He could've fucking murdered him and you're really gonna sit there and act like he's not violent!"

"I said he was never violent towards ME!" Kyle snapped and his shoulders tensed up.

"Ha, OH, so because he only recently decided to do it to YOU, now it only makes sense that a demon cat is behind it. Am I getting that right, Kyle?" Stan replied. Kyle stared back at him silently, shaking in rage. Kenny looked between them in silence. Stan picked up his bag.

"You know what, I just don't fucking get it dude. You're standing up for him, YOU of all people. Like, Kenny I get." Stan said and looked at Kenny, gesturing to him. "Kenny's his best friend, so it makes sense to me, but-"

"Cartman's been more of a friend to me in the last month than you've been all YEAR!" Kyle spat through clenched teeth. Stan met Kyle's eyes, his hand lowering. Kenny looked between them one last time and cleared his throat, standing up.

"I'm gonna get us some coffee." He said and slowly walked out the door. Stan shared a brief look with Kenny as he passed, before his gaze returned to Kyle. Kyle's eyes never left Stan's, not even noticing that Kenny had left.

"...So that's what this is about." Stan finally spoke, his tone somewhat softer. The sound of it caught Kyle off guard and his eyebrows furrowed, gaze dropping to his feet.

"...Fuck you, Stan." He mumbled, conflicted. "You don't get to judge someone who you haven't bonded with for over two years."

Stan put his bag down and slowly walked over to Kyle as he spoke.

"I'm not judging him, Kyle. I'm listening to the doctor and considering the facts. That's usually your job." He replied quietly. Kyle's jaw tensed and he slowly looked at Cartman's unresponsive body. Stan cautiously placed a hand on Kyle's shoulder. "Dude… I get it."

Kyle slowly looked up at Stan, expression guarded. "What do you get?"

"You've been getting closer to Cartman because I've been with the jocks and you feel like I'm abandoning you or something." He replied. Kyle huffed through his nose.

"You don't have to be so dramatic about it. I never thought you were abandoning me, I…" Kyle trailed off and looked back at Cartman again. "It's not always about you, Stan. You're not the only reason I've been getting closer to Cartman. He just wants to hang out with me. And when we hang out, he's not being weird. He's been doing so much better. He's so focused now on the musical and that's like, one step away from being focused on actual school work and graduating and-"

"Kyle." Stan interrupted Kyle's rambling. Kyle looked up at him as he continued.

"No, Stan. You don't get it. I mean, okay, I know I was projecting a little about you not hanging out with me anymore, but what I said has truth to it, about Cartman I mean. You're just seeing this thing he did now, and without seeing all the great things he's BEEN doing all year long."

"I see him doing a lot of things you don't see too, Kyle." Stan replied. "Like stealing five thousand dollars that the school raised for a breast cancer charity."

"...What? That was him?" Kyle asked, his eyebrows furrowing. Stan sighed and took his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through it.

"Are you surprised? I took a picture of it. The day after the fundraiser, I saw Cartman taking it out of his locker last period, and the envelope clearly says breast cancer funds on it. Here, look for yourself." Stan said and handed Kyle his phone. Kyle's eyes widened as he stared at the blatant evidence.

"...That happened two weeks ago, Stan." Kyle said and handed the phone back, eyes burning with the need for justice. "Why the fuck didn't you turn him in? The money is long gone by now!"

"I thought about it, but I just didn't. I guess I'm not that bad of a friend after all." Stan replied, sliding his phone back into his pocket. Kyle scowled.

"And your ex being in charge of the fundraiser had nothing to do with you staying quiet?" He asked. Stan pursed his lips.

"...Well.."

"Stan!" Kyle snapped. "I don't give a shit whether or not you're pissed at Wendy, that money was for a good cause!"

Stan sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll turn him in when he wakes up. Maybe they'll make him give the money back somehow. ...Well they'll probably expel him."

Kyle's eyes looked terribly worried and he looked over at Cartman again, walking over to the bed and gripping the metal bar. "...No. Don't do that yet… I want his side first."

"..." Stan watched Kyle curiously as the redhead's hands tightened on the bars.

"...He was doing so good. It makes no sense." He growled and touched the dark bruise on his neck. Stan's eyes went to the wound and he walked over to Kyle again, hand touching his shoulder once more.

"Don't pity him, dude. You don't owe him anything." He said quietly. Kyle bristled and smacked Stan's hand away as he turned to face him.

"I don't fucking pity him!" Kyle snapped. "Why the fuck would I pity him? He's an asshole! But he can do so much better, he's been doing so much better Stan! You don't… You weren't there. You haven't seen him or-or heard him. He was doing so fucking good until he took that fucking cat home god damn it!"

"It's not the cat." Stan insisted and put both of his hands on Kyle's shoulders. Kyle looked back at Stan, eyebrows furrowed and eyes showing the hidden hurt he felt.

"It has to be."

"Kyle-"

"He'd never hurt me like that, Stan!"

"He did. He did hurt you. You're a logical thinker, Kyle. You know it has nothing to do with the cat. Cartman's sick. He's got schizoaffective or whatever it's called, and-"

"No! It's not just that it-" Kyle responded stubbornly. Stan's grip tightened as he continued over Kyle.

"And no matter how good he's been doing, that doesn't give him an excuse to lash out and hurt you or anyone else like that! He's sick, Kyle. He's sick and he needs some serious mental help. We just have to hope he listens to the doctor and takes the medication or therapy or whatever he's got to do to get better. That's not your responsibility, it's his." He finished.

Kyle went silent and stared into Stan's eyes before slowly looking down at his feet.

"...I never expected him to attack me like that." He finally confessed, expression unreadable except for his eyes. Hurt and confusion burned in his gaze, a huge lump in his throat. Stan felt like he'd finally gotten through to Kyle. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a comforting hug, rubbing his back. Kyle slowly hugged Stan back, his throat too tight to speak.

"It's not your fault, dude. We just gotta figure out what to do next. We'll ask the doctor a bunch of questions when he comes in and do research about it tonight at my place, okay?" He replied. Stan's words warmed Kyle's chest and he nodded slowly, not realizing exactly how badly he had missed Stan until this very moment. Determination began building up in Kyle as he moved away from Stan and looked back at Cartman once more as Kenny walked back inside.

They had to help him.