Kyle walked home quickly, hoping his mom would let him stay the night at Cartman's if he said he was staying at Stan's house instead. It was a weekday, but his mother made exceptions every now and then.
Before he opened the door he heard light talking, scarcely above a whisper, with no one replying. He silently pressed his ear against the door, trying to hear as much of the conversation as possible. It wasn't Ike speaking, no it was a woman's voice, most likely his mother.
"I'm telling you! I don't think your little warning will do any good. From my other source, my son was seen near his house today also." Sheila's voice had risen slightly making her a little easier to eavesdrop on.
Kyle was sweating. Yup, definitely his mom. 'What the literal fuck. Her other source? Warning? What was mom smoking?'
"No, you listen to me! I will deal with the rest of this situation on my own, Tenorman! I'll send your check you barely deserve in the mail. Do not call again!" The sound of the phone slamming down practically shook the whole house. Kyle acted quickly, straightening himself up outside of the door, deciding to wait a few moments before opening the door. 'Play it cool, Kyle' he told himself.
He opened the door, seeing his mom washing dishes in the kitchen while humming unusually loudly to herself.
"Hey mom." Kyle greeted nonchalantly. Inwardly, he was freaking out. His heart was pounding and he was having some trouble breathing. 'Oh God, am I having a fucking panic attack or something?' He swallowed hard.
She looked up absently, "Hello Kyle. Where have you been? Lovely weather isn't it?"
Kyle's vision began to blur until his phone's text tone beeped rather obnoxiously. He shook his head to read it as he noticed the sender: Cartman.
Kyle did you make it home okay?
He forced a neutral look. Yeah I made it. Why?
Someone was sneaking around outside my house. They scared the shit out of my mom when she went to get the mail. Ran off before I could get my AK.
Kyle's blood ran cold. Now everything was making sense but he really wished it wasn't. It was like he was in a bad horror movie and he was beyond ready to get out of it.
"I said where have you been Kyle? Or is texting more important?" His mother did not sound at all like she was in the mood for games today. He responded quickly.
"Just school Mom. By the way can I go to Stan's to spend the night?" She bit her lip looking like she was about to say no.
"I promise I'll take my insulin and we'll go to bed early, please mom?" Kyle put on his puppy dog pout even though he wanted nothing more than to grab his clothes bag and run away from here. He was even a little apprehensive about leaving poor Ike alone with her. She was freaking him out, hardcore.
Sheila bit her lip again, but spoke with authority, "You can always stay at Stan's, but I will be calling Sharon to make sure you are actually at Stan's."
Kyle figured he would figure his way around that minor detail, "Okay, Mom. Well, where else would I go?"
She gave him a hard look but said nothing, back to the dishwashing she went.
Kyle knocked on Ike's door almost desperately. His little brother answered it immediately. "Kyle what's wrong? Dude, you look like you've seen a ghost."
Kyle hesitated. How much should he tell Ike? Ike was only 11 which meant that him leaving the house on a school night was absolutely out of the question. He didn't want his brother in harm's way, but would he be putting him in more danger by filling him in? Why does life suck so much sometimes?
Kyle could only pray he was doing the right thing, "Someone hurt Cartman last night, so I'm going to go stay with him tonight. I want you to be very safe tonight as well Ike, lock your door and windows and don't open them for anyone until tomorrow morning."
Ike looked confused. "Not even mom or dad?"
"No, if it's past your bedtime just be quiet and pretend to be sleeping. They'll leave you alone if you don't answer long enough." Kyle was in no way concerned about his dad's motives in checking on Ike. But his mom? He shuddered inwardly.
Ike looked serious, "Be careful Kyle. Just be careful." He hugged his older brother tightly. "You too, Ike."
Kyle left Ike's room and grabbed his belongings. He texted Stan, Can you do me a solid?
Stan replied, I'm with Wendy right now. But what do you need?
I need you to get your mom to say I'm over there. Please can you do that for me?
Stan's face screwed up into a frown. "What's wrong babe?" Wendy asked.
"Not sure, sweetie. Something's going on with Kyle. He's wanting me to lie for him."
Wendy looked worried. She hugged him sideways. "Is that a good idea?"
Stan pursed his lips, "Probably not, but I kind of owe him, regardless of how sketchy he's been in some respects lately." He hadn't told Wendy that Kyle was gay and didn't plan on it. Though he and Wendy were extremely close, he deemed that Kyle would tell everyone when he was good and ready. Until then, it really wasn't hers or anyone else's business.
Sure man. What do you need me to do?
Get your mom to answer when mine calls and say I'm staying the night at your place tonight. Please. Kyle had no idea what he would do if Stan refused.
Ok consider it done. I hope you know what you're doing Kyle.
Stan quickly called his mom and got her to agree. Though she did ask for an explanation, Stan said that Kyle was going through some stuff and really needed to get away but that he was somewhere safe. Even though Stan could only speculate where he was going. 'What the hell? I'll just ask him.'
Where are you staying for real?
Kyle replied honestly. With Cartman. See you tomorrow.
Stan stared at the phone screen dumbfounded. Something was seriously amiss here. First, Kyle was all secretive. Then, he started secretly and not so secretly hanging out with Cartman. 'Weird as fuck.' Finally, he had come out to Stan as gay. 'Wait a damn minute! That was it! That was most likely Kyle's big secret! He was gay with Cartman, ewww.' Stan resisted the urge to vomit forgetting where he was for a split second.
Wendy tapped him on the arm. "Stan? You okay?"
He nodded, swallowing the bile down quickly. "Yeah Wends, I'm fine. Let's go catch the movie." He pulled her gently along.
"What do you mean you won't tail my son again?! What am I paying you for?" Mrs. Broflovski was once again irate and on the phone, giving the person on the other end an earful.
Bebe stuttered pitifully, "It's well past my school night curfew. And thanks for the money but I'm not sure if I can do this anymore. Eric Cartman has guns and probably other weapons. He's not afraid to use them either. Sorry, Mrs. Broflovski, but I can't tail for you anymore."
When Mrs. Broflovski hadn't responded for well over 5 minutes, Bebe interjected scaredly. "You can even keep the money if you want! I'm sorry I have to go." The line went dead.
Sheila rolled her tired bloodshot eyes as she set the phone down more calmly this time. "Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands." She said matter of factly.
Kyle jogged to Cartman's house looking around in front of, behind him, and even in some bushes to make sure he wasn't being followed. He knocked harshly on Cartman's door not having seen anyone the whole way over, but not trusting his vision at night.
Cartman opened the door soon after the knock. "Hey Jew, come on in."
He was walking really slowly but seemed to be getting around at least. The side of his face had turned a slight purplish color as had his chest from what Kyle saw of it thanks to his open pajama shirt. This caused Kyle to blush slightly.
"How long are you staying, a week?" Cartman laughed at Kyle's numerous bags.
"You wish fatass." Kyle retorted as the two made their way upstairs.
Cartman almost slipped on the way up the stairs but between catching himself on the banister and Kyle's soft, warm body his fall was broken. Kyle carefully helped support Cartman the rest of the way up the stairs. He felt Cartman's back against him as the two ascended the stairs. It felt strong and lightly muscled. 'Shit I've got it bad' Kyle thought to himself.
When Cartman finally got to his bed, he was breathing hard and his face was solidly flushed. "Eric? Are you okay?" Kyle leaned towards him after setting his bags down out of the way. He gasped, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just really out of breath. My chest still hurts from the other night. Falling out a window sucks huge balls."
Kyle nodded wanting to look at his injuries to make sure he was okay, but not wanting to overstep his boundaries. He swallowed his fears and spoke up anyway. "Can I see where you got hurt? I know a little bit medically and well, I just want to make sure nothing's serious."
Cartman normally would have told him he was fucking fine and didn't need pity, but whether it was the pain or the weird dynamic that had developed between he and Kyle he didn't object. He nodded.
Cartman unbuttoned his shirt all the way and shrugged it off. Kyle tried his best to focus on the injury which wasn't hard in that the whole left side of his chest was bruised darkly, but 'damn this was the first time he was seeing Cartman without a shirt on with no darkness since well at least 5 years.' He wasn't ripped, but Kyle didn't like that sort of body type anyway. He liked a little muscle, yes, but less definition was more to his liking. Screw it, Kyle thought. 'Cartman is just attractive to me.'
Kyle slowly traced his hand over the bruise putting light pressure down around bones and tendons to make sure nothing was out of place. He paused at the top of his chest and finally made eye contact with Cartman.
"Are you sure you're okay? Your heart is beating really fast."
Cartman's hazel eyes were locked onto Kyle's bright green ones, causing a spark that both had been feeling for the longest time to ignite full force. Cartman had never intended to pursue Kyle, but the warmth of Kyle's hand on him and the look in his eyes was just too much.
"That's um, not from the injury." He sat up and leaned closer to Kyle.
"What do you mean?" Kyle was genuinely confused.
"It's because you're touching me." Cartman confessed. Kyle wasn't sure if Cartman had leaned in further or if he himself had leaned in a bit. Their faces were inches apart. Kyle dropped his hand from Cartman's bare skin and let it hang forgotten as he focused on the brunette in front of him.
Cartman slowly, as if Kyle were some wild animal that he would spook if he moved too quickly, placed his hand on the back of Kyle's head. He wasn't pushing against Kyle or anything, just a light pressure. He spoke breathlessly. "If you want me to stop you better say something now or I'm going to kiss you."
A/N: Don't hate me! I could have finished the kiss scene I really could have but I plan to put the next chapter out soon so I figure a little cliffy won't kill you guys. Read and Review as always, until next time!