When the two woke up, there were no words exchanged. Cartman quickly got up to shower and Kyle, after dazedly remembering where he was, frantically grabbed his phone to field any missed calls.
Mom: Kyle?! Where are you? You're in big trouble Mister!
Mom: Your father explained you were just spending the night at Stan's. You're not in trouble, but next time tell me where you're going as well and don't stay out all day.
Kyle checked the time on his phone. It was only 10:30AM so he still had plenty of time to get home.
Stan: Sorry about last night Kyle. I made it home this morning. What's up? I forgot to ask last night, but did your girl show up? I'm guessing not since you spent most of the night with me and Cartman. By the way, I really need to talk to you about that. Meet up before school on Monday?
Kyle was sort of nervous. What exactly did Stan need to talk to him about? Since when was hanging out with Stan and Cartman a big deal? That was what most of their weekend plans consisted of anyway, including Kenny most of the time, but not all of the time.
Kyle replied simply. Yeah that sounds fine. What exactly do you want to talk about?
Stan texted back quickly. It has to do with Cartman. So I guess you and Cartman.
Kyle hated the sound of this. Trust me. It's a misunderstanding, but sure I'll be there.
Stan's reply was a major red flag. Something tells me it's really not. There's something up with that look he was giving you when we were playing Truth or Dare. I just know it.
Kyle responded with a quick ok Stan and left it at that.
Cartman came out of the shower. "Hey Kyle, um you can use the shower too if you want."
Kyle had brought an extra pair of clothes with him to the party, so he agreed. "Sure." If Cartman wanted to act like him sleeping in his bed and cuddling up next to him for the second time wasn't a big deal at all, then fine, he wouldn't make a big deal out of it either.
Cartman's phone went off as he fell back onto his bed. He glanced at the screen; it was a text message from a number he didn't have saved into his phone. The text was short, but the message was clear.
Stay away from Kyle Broflovski or the consequences for you both will prove fatal.
He tried to call the number, but the call wouldn't go through. Cartman's hand was shaking he was so mad. 'Who the fuck did this mystery person think they are? Nobody threatens Eric Cartman or Kyle for that matter. It was definitely a little out of character for him to think this way, but he didn't care damn it.'
He entered the area code into his computer and searched for its origin since it wasn't a Colorado area code that he was certain of.
Kyle's text tone went off a few minutes later. Cartman was tempted to check Kyle's phone and see if it was the same person, but decided that he could just ask him. He was trying to get the boy to trust him, not piss him off. He smiled slightly. Things had definitely changed.
The water turned off in the shower and as Kyle emerged from the bathroom, Cartman cut right to the chase. "See if a weird number texted you."
Kyle would have replied sarcastically if he hadn't seen the worry in Cartman's face. He looked at his phone apprehensively. Sure enough there was a text from a very odd number.
Oh Kyle. Why make things so difficult? Stay away from Eric Cartman. It would be a shame for your sexy self to get hurt over someone like him.
Kyle swallowed nervously, "Yes I did. Did they threaten you too?"
The two traded phones. Cartman gripped Kyle's phone tightly and was tempted to throw it against the wall until he remembered it was indeed Kyle's. He handed the phone back to the Jewish boy. Cartman sat at the computer again as it pulled up the area the phone had been activated in. Kyle sat down beside him. "I want to help. They can't be messing with us like this."
Cartman shook his head, "It would be best if you didn't get involved. Actually, you should probably stop talking to me and just leave now." The words hurt Cartman to say, but if there was a chance he was putting Kyle in danger then he would have to be harsh.
"Cartman, no. I get what you're trying to do and it's commendable, but I can take care of myself. Where is the phone from?"
Cartman considered insulting and pissing Kyle off badly enough to leave, but a part of him just didn't want to do that. He didn't say anything for a while, staring at his computer screen.
"Do you want me to leave and not talk to you? If that's really what you want, then I'll fucking leave." Kyle was pissed off now. He hated being ignored.
"No that's not what I want." Cartman snapped. "But this worries me."
He paused for a minute and then continued. "I've pissed a lot of people off over the years, some a little, others a lot. Some of the people are dangerous. I'm not risking your safety over something I did. Don't take it as an insult, it's just me showing I…care." He looked down, visibly embarrassed.
Kyle smiled widely at him, "I know and that's, well don't bite my head off for this, but it's kind of sweet. I don't appreciate somebody threatening you either, though. That's why I want to help."
Cartman gave him a dirty look but was silent for a few minutes.
"Fine, annoying Jew. The area code is from Texas, which means I have no fucking clue who it is. If you're still stupid enough to want to talk to me after everything I've told you, then do it discreetly."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Douchebag. What do you mean?"
"As in, don't let anyone see our phone conversations or see us talking in public. It's probably some dumbass from school using a prepaid phone. I'm not sure about the Texas area code, but hopefully this will all blow over. Just don't be a dumbass about it."
Kyle raised his voice, "I'm not a dumbass! I was just trying to help you stupid."
He hated that it had resorted to arguing, but there was an element of familiarity both boys welcomed. Arguing was safe. Insults were safe. The atmosphere between the two had been quite strange lately and some of the tension appeared to have been diffused in the few argumentative moments.
The two immediately switched subjects and continued to make small talk, carefully avoiding talking about any conversation that could be too heavy or mentioning the texts.
"I'll be heading out now." Kyle said awkwardly. Cartman was still typing some stuff on his computer.
"Okay Jew, see you at school and remember, uh, take care of yourself and don't talk to me too much at school." Cartman didn't even look at Kyle, figuring the boy would just walk out of the room and leave.
"Well, aren't you going to at least see me out the door?" Kyle quipped.
Cartman rolled his eyes, but stood up. "Such a needy ginger." He said but Kyle didn't even bother getting annoyed because his tone of voice conveyed this was meant to be teasing, not insulting.
Cartman walked Kyle to the door, "Bye." He said simply.
Kyle just hugged him, pulling away when Cartman didn't hug him back. "What was that for Kyle?"
Kyle awkwardly crossed his feet and uncrossed them, "Stan and I always hug each other bye when we leave. It's kind of what friends do and I thought-" He was cut off by Cartman tightly hugging him.
When he pulled away, both boys cleared their throats awkwardly. Kyle turned to go, smiling when he heard Cartman's mumbled explanation. "I'm really new at this friends thing, dammit."
After Kyle left, Cartman continued trying to get an exact location on the phone number that had contacted them. All he could seem to pinpoint was that it was activated in Fort Worth, Texas and couldn't receive private calls. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something sinister about this contact, but since even his expert backtracking skills hadn't turned anything up, he decided to just relax on his bed for a while, enjoying the respite.
Kyle went straight home, steeling himself to be scolded for not telling his mom what was going on firsthand. He looked at his phone and, realizing the date, remembered he needed to go to the doctor to have a check up sometime the upcoming week. No one had contacted him and, since he had been hanging out with Cartman, had had no further fainting or struggling to breathe episodes. It was almost as if it had been from some sort of anxiety he didn't' know he was having and hanging out with Cartman more often had dissipated these problems. Kyle couldn't believe how hilarious the thought was. Cartman dissolving his stress? He had felt much more relaxed around the larger boy lately and, come to think of it, more relaxed in general. He realized that he figured his mom would scold him and was prepared for it, but wasn't stressed out about it at all. The thought made him happy. It was high time he could stand up to his mom and not worry about the consequences. He would be 17 next month; adulthood wasn't far away at all, she would just have to get over it.
Kyle walked in the door to his house, not slamming the door, but not easing it closed either. Sitting at the kitchen table were his mom and his brother. "Kyle, you're off the hook this time, but do you understand why I was so angry? When you don't tell me where you're going, anything could happen and what if your diabetes acts up? Or what if you're in an unsafe situation with that Cartman boy and he just abandons you? Anything could happen, we're just trying to look out for your best interests."
It was almost inhuman how quickly Mrs. Broflovski could speak when she wanted to, without even breathing at that.
Ike gave his brother an apologetic look as he tried to get up and go to his room. His mother physically pulled him back into a sitting position. "Ike I have something to say to you too, so stay put."
"Mom," Kyle was already exasperated, though he didn't fully agree with Cartman's opinion of his mom, 'that she was just a big fat bitch', 'she could indeed be bitchy and rarely listened to Kyle or Ike's explanations.'
"I told Dad where I was going, that should be good enough. I'm almost 17, I should be given some freedom. I've told you already; I keep my insulin on me at all times and we are not talking about Cartman right now." Kyle was impressed with his own confidence. Sometimes it really felt good to stand up to his mom.
"You get plenty of freedom, sweetie. I let you go to Stan's house once during the weekend, just about every weekend. Listen, Kyle," She continued, "your birthday is coming up and, well, I think we should talk about who is going to be allowed over and who isn't." Sheila spoke matter of factly like her word was the final word on basically everything, and, in her eyes, it probably was.
Kyle fought the urge to roll his eyes, 'freedom my ass'. "Go on. And what's Ike in trouble for anyway?"
"Ike got in trouble at school today for kissing a girl. It was very inappropriate and he will be punished accordingly."
Ike interrupted loudly, "Mom, stop making something out of nothing! I'll tell you what happened Kyle. I kissed the girl I like on the cheek and her ex boyfriend told on us. Since he's the teacher's favorite, he made up some fake story and got me sent to the principal, who called Mom since he has no clue what really happened. Filmore's backing me up on what happened and so is the girl, but clearly mom doesn't believe me." Ike looked both angry and embarrassed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't even know why it's a big deal, we're freaking 11."
"Watch your mouth, Ike." Sheila warned. "Plus it's a big deal because you could lose your scholarship."
Ike deadpanned, "I'm in 6th grade. I am not on scholarship as I go to a public school."
"Go to your room Ike!" Sheila hated arguing with her sons, thus this was her reaction when the argument didn't go in her favor.
Ike didn't move.
Kyle resisted the urge to tap his foot impatiently. He had a quiz tomorrow that he still wanted to review for. Why couldn't his mother just chill out every once in a while?
His mother turned her attention to Kyle, "I'll make this short. You can have your birthday party here like usual given a few rules. Rule #1: No alcohol or illegal substances of any sort. So if need be, your friend Kenny can stay home. Second, Eric Cartman will not set foot in this house. He has caused enough trouble over the years. Lastly, everyone must be out and the house cleaned by 9:00 PM."
Kyle felt his eye twitch. "I wouldn't dream of having alcohol or drugs here, Mom. Plus, Kenny doesn't do drugs anyway that's his parents. Eric, I mean Cartman's changed a lot lately. Give him a chance." Kyle felt slightly uncomfortable when he realized almost every conversation he had had with his mom lately had resulted in him defending his once enemy.
She pursed her lips, "My mind is made up Kyle. I'm very sorry." She didn't sound sorry at all.
Ike was planning to head to his room, but the nature of the conversation now had him intrigued. His older brother was defending Cartman. 'Did he actually want the racist fat fuck at his birthday?' This was an interesting development indeed. He sat silently, pretending to look at his nails, but secretly engrossed completely in the conversation.
"I do not mean to disrespect you Mom, but you're wrong about him. He's changed. If you let him come over, you would see that. Plus, he's been through a lot." Kyle stated evenly.
Sheila slammed her fist on the table, startling Ike and Kyle both. "What has he gone through Kyle?! If I didn't know better, I would say you were defending him because you LIKE him." She said in a threatening tone.
Kyle raised his voice only slightly. "That's not really your business and yes, I do like him. Since we started hanging out, he has been nothing but a good friend to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a quiz to study for." Kyle walked out without looking back at his mother.
Ike said loud enough for Kyle and his mother to hear him, "That was kickass."
His mother held her head in her hands, "I need an aspirin."
As she walked out of Ike's earshot, she mumbled to herself, "I refuse to let that boy victimize my son or my family. It's time somebody got their just desserts." A crazed smile swept over her face.
A/N: Review if it suits your fancy! Hopefully some errant plot bunnies will be tied up in the next few chapters. Feel free to guess which ones.