There was no going back now.
Eric was lying on his bed after exhausting his spare blood supply that Butters had told him to keep around for emergencies. This was an emergency. He had tasted Kyle's blood, and the difference between the smell and that taste was like a crack in the sidewalk compared to the Grand Canyon. He was gone. And there was no going back.
But what about Kyle? After Kyle fucking cut himself, Eric totally lost his shit just like before. Only this time Eric couldn't get away in time. By the time Kyle left the room, Eric was too raw and overexposed. He followed him. He tasted his blood….
Every time Eric closed his eyes he saw Kyle's surprised face. His wide eyes. Lips parted. The way his face flushed when Eric's mom interrupted them. He looked scared, but there was something else. Something that was heavier than fear. Eric felt hopeful. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Kyle had never had a girlfriend. He never even talked about liking girls. That was it! Kyle must be a homo, and Eric was going to help that faggot Jew embrace his sexuality.
But Eric couldn't rely on their after school tutoring sessions anymore. Eric would have to do something bold. Maybe Clyde Frog was right. If Eric could do something that looked vulnerable, then maybe Kyle would let him get close again.
The next morning Eric had Health with Kyle. It would've been the perfect opportunity to corner him, but of course Kyle was anticipating that Eric wanted to talk to him. The ginger asshole timed it perfectly so he walked in exactly a second before Mr. Jones had begun his lecture.
Eric was anxious the whole period. He fiddled incessantly with his paper and pens. He couldn't sit still. He decided that he would use his vampire speed to catch Kyle between classes if he needed too. Whatever it took. Luckily, when the bell rang, someone else was also hoping to talk to Kyle.
"Kyle! Wait up!" Wendy Testaburger yelled from across the room. Kyle froze next to the door and slowly turned around, glancing quickly at Eric before smiling at Wendy. Stan joined them momentarily.
"If you want to pay for your ticket now I have them right here," she said.
"Oh right. For Friday. Sure." Kyle reached into his backpack to dig out his wallet. Eric took the opportunity to causally make his way towards the group.
"What's happening Friday?" he asked. Kyle purposefully avoided his gaze.
Wendy looked uneasy. "It's a fundraiser dance for the Women's Equality Club."
Eric struggled not to say anything insulting. This could be exactly what he needed to move forward with his plan. "That's… interesting," he managed after a beat. "Is it at the school?"
"Actually it's at Token's house. He did us a huge favor by agreed to have it there." Eric saw Stan tense out of the corner of his eye. He had never fully gotten over the time Wendy had dumped him for Token.
"That sounds… pretty cool actually," Eric lied. "How much are the tickets?" Wendy's jaw dropped. Eric grinned. It was a good look for her.
"Oh, um, seven dollars. It seems like a lot but it's for a good cause…" She trailed off as she watched Eric pull out a ten-dollar bill from his pocket.
"Got change?" he asked.
"Yeah… Are you serious?" Eric raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed a little. "Nevermind. Just don't… whatever," she said as she handed him his change and his ticket. Then Wendy turned to Kyle. "You're going to go too, right?"
"Yeah. Anything for you, Wendy," he mumbled, handing her exact change. She handed Kyle a ticket, and after shooting one more suspicious look at Eric, Wendy walked out of the classroom. For a brief moment Eric, Kyle, and Stan were left standing in a weird half circle, all looking uncomfortable. Then Wendy called out for her boyfriend to walk her to class, and he obediently left. Kyle swiftly followed them after them.
"Kyle, wait!" Eric shouted, running into the hallway. Kyle ignored him. "Goddammit, Kahl!"
"What?" he shouted, obviously pissed. He didn't stop walking, but Eric caught up to him with ease.
"Don't avoid me, you kike!"
Kyle spun around, pointing an angry finger at Eric. "Don't fucking call me that!" he roared. Eric saw that they had stopped in front of the entrance to the boy's bathroom. Perfect. He grabbed Kyle by the arm and pulled him through the swinging door.
Eric did a quick scan to make sure they were alone, and then turned to Kyle. The red-haired Jew was glaring at him viciously. Eric awkwardly cleared his throat before he said, "Sorry I keep dragging you into bathrooms."
Kyle immediately turned bright red. He looked away. "What do you want, Cartman?"
"Look, I don't want to talk about what happened or anything like that," he said. "I just want to say…" ok, rehearsed deep breath, "I like you."
Kyle didn't look at him. "You like me," he repeated numbly.
"Yeah." Not the response he was hoping for. "You know, no big deal. I just have a huge fucking crush on you."
Kyle crossed his arms. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"What? Fuck you! Why the fuck would l lie about something like this?"
"You lie about everything!" Kyle yelled, finally looking Eric in the eye. "You'd say anything to get what you want!"
Eric frowned. "What if what I want is you?" he asked, cautiously. Technically not a lie.
Kyle's reaction was extremely satisfying. He was already blushing, but he managed to turn a couple shades darker, and he moved one of his hands to cover the lower half of his face. As if it could possibly hide all the red covering his forehead and ears. Eric let out a small snigger before he could stop himself.
"It's not fucking funny," Kyle grumbled.
"Sorry. …You're just so cute."
Kyle made a move to punch him in the arm. Instead Eric grabbed his arm and pulled Kyle towards him.
His breath caught a little when he realized how close they were. It was as if he could smell Kyle's blood through his skin. Eric absently minded reached a hand up to Kyle's throat to see if he could find his pulse. Kyle inhaled sharply at the contact and leaned his forehead into Eric's collar bone.
Just then Butters walked into the restroom, and the two boys quickly jumped away from each other. Eric seethed.
"Get the fuck out of here, Butters!"
"B-but where am I going to go wee?" the blonde boy whined.
"I don't give a shit! Go piss in the woods or something!"
A dejected looking Butters walked out of the restroom just as the bell notifying them to get to class sounded through the hallways.
Kyle started walking towards the door. "I should go."
"Wait!" Eric shouted. Kyle paused. "You're going to that dance on Friday, right?" Kyle nodded. "Do you want to, I don't know, go together?"
Kyle sighed. "I don't know. I'm supposed to go with Stan and Wendy."
"Then maybe we could just hang out there!"
"…Sure." He walked out.
Eric decided he didn't care enough to go back to class. He left the school and started walking in the direction of his house. On the way, he walked through the basketball court. He was trying to figure out if that last interaction had gone well or not. He wasn't surprised when he noticed Kenny and Craig smoking on the small playground next to the court. His vampire nose told him it was one hundred percent weed this time.
"Cartman!" Kenny hollered from the top of the slide. He was wearing a lazy grin to greet his friend. Craig kicked Kenny in the back of the legs and the blonde playboy slid all the way to bottom. Eric walked over and Kenny handed him the joint.
"What are you doing Friday?" Eric asked after taking a hit and handing it back to his friend.
"Going to a motherfucking party! Whoo!" Kenny waved his hands in air. Craig chuckled at Kenny's display of enthusiasm. "Why do you ask?"
"I wanted to see if you were going to Wendy's shitty lesbian dance or not."
"At Token's? No way. That's gonna be boring as fuck." Kenny laid down on his back, his legs dangling off the edge of the slide.
Eric shrugged. "It might be fun if we go as a group."
Kenny laughed. "Why the fuck are you going to a Women's Club dance? You hate women and dancing."
Eric glanced up at Craig, who was pretending not to eavesdrop. Kenny followed his gaze and then stood up.
"Walk with me."
Craig shot them a frustrated glare. "McCormick! Don't think you can walk away holding my fucking weed."
Kenny quickly ran up the slide to where Craig was sitting. "Sorry, baby. Didn't mean to make you jealous," he cooed, handing him the joint.
"Don't fucking call me baby," Craig said, flipping Kenny off.
"Then don't fucking act like one." Kenny winked and then slid back down to where Eric was waiting for him. The two of them began walking. Once they were far enough away from Craig, Kenny asked, "So what's the deal?"
"I have a crush on Kyle."
Kenny stared at Eric for a second. "Huh. That's a weird thing to lie about."
Eric gaped. "I'm not lying."
"Yeah you are. You're doing that thing you always do when you lie."
"What thing?"
"If I told you what it was you wouldn't do it anymore," Kenny said, grinning. Eric didn't say anything. "Ok, so you're going to this dance because you want Kyle to think you like him. Not the best plan, but I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to get from him."
"I want his body," Eric admitted. Also not technically a lie.
"Ah. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no one who goes to Wendy's dance is getting laid at the end of the night. It's the party of the prudes. If you brought Kyle to the party I'm going to… well, maybe you'd have a chance."
"Which party is that?"
Kenny clapped his friend on the back and stopped walking. "We made it to your house, dude." He began to leave.
"Where's the fucking party, Kenny?" he shouted.
Kenny waved without turning around. "Don't worry! I'll tell you later! Maybe."
Eric frowned. He hated when Kenny withheld information from him. He usually just did it for fun, though sometimes he'd ask for something in exchange. Kenny was a good guy, but he was also a pro at pissing Eric off.
Whatever this mystery party was, it better be lit.