A/N: This is apparently the party that never ends...And any alcohol besides cheap beer in red solo cups is sinful. Again, I promise there is a reason to all this madness. The two smart characters are just dragging their feet with this so the story just keeps getting longer and longer. Lol, I just like to get crap out of my head, anyway. Enjoy!
Token's house was the envy of almost all South Park residents. The stairs had red carpet, chandeliers hung in different rooms, and the house went on for days. One time Cartman had found a room that no one was using and decided to move in and was there for four days before Token found him and angrily kicked him out. The house was that big.
Stan, Kyle, and Butters entered the oversized, ornate front doors together on Saturday evening.
"I'm so excited," Butters gushed to his friends. Stan grinned in total understanding though he doubted Butters was excited about the alcohol. Stan sure was. Kyle took in the house, awestruck.
"Still amazes me every time we come here how nice it is," he commented. Token's parents were out of town for the week. He had set up everything nicely with help from Craig and a few other students who had met him earlier. There was a bar that was set up pristinely. The red solo cups stacked on the bar next to his parents' fancy bottles looked displaced and even hilarious. More than one alcohol connoisseur would probably have a heart attack at the top shelf brands being heavily poured into solo cups. A wine connoisseur might actually attack someone at the thought of even cheap wine in a solo cup much less a very expensive fine wine in one. Even so, Token was putting out bottle after bottle of the best drinks that most people with regular jobs would never be able afford once, much less have them sitting around in a bar in a mansion.
Stan made a beeline straight for the solo cups, leaving behind Butters and Kyle who were still admiring the decorations. "Hey, Token!" he greeted.
Token smiled in response, pulling another bottle of wine out of the cupboard behind him and setting it on the bar. "Hey Stan! Glad you're here! The vodka is in the center," he said already knowing Stan's usual choice of poison. Stan nodded and grabbed the Iordanov Vodka. It was a nice clear bottle embedded with thousands of Swarovski crystals that formed a skull. Stan knew that this particular bottle sold for over $4,000 and he knew Token likely had a second bottle stashed away specifically for him. Stan was at least an honest sinner.
"Thanks Token!"
"Anytime."
Kyle and Butters found Stan at the bar. "Geeze, Stan, don't wait up," Kyle grumbled.
Stan poured as much of the vodka as he could fit in his solo cup before glancing over at his friends. "Sorry, just wanted to get the good stuff before anyone else."
"You're just going to drink that straight?" Kyle asked incredulous as he watched his best friend drink. Stan forgot that Kyle usually didn't come to these things so he mostly just saw Stan drink fruity Smirnoffs they usually swiped from Shelly's stash. Every now and then Stan was able to raid his dad's stash but none of them compared to the vodkas or other alcoholic beverages at Token's place. He was saved from having to answer by Token.
"Hey, Kyle, good to see you!" Token greeted. "Hey Butters! You two want something to drink." It wasn't a question.
"Lemonade, please," Butters requested. Token grinned and chuckled, brandishing a pitcher of lemonade from behind the bar
"Somehow, I knew you would say that so I came prepared," he teased, pouring the lemonade into a solo cup for Butters. The cheery blonde gratefully took it. "Kyle?"
Kyle didn't respond right away looking at all the alcohol. "Uh, some wine."
"Red or white?"
"Red."
"Good, I got a Lafite Rothschild bottle here," Token said brightly, happy to open the bottle. Stan figured Token likely knew Kyle had no idea the bottle was close to $1,000 if not more depending on where it was bought and what year. Stan only knew since he'd been to nearly every party of Token's save for when he was sick or that one time his family decided to have a vacation, so Stan was more than familiar with the bar. Token finished and encouraged Kyle to taste it. Kyle glanced at the bottle again, finding the situation a bit ironic but decided not to comment on it. Kyle realized Token was still watching along with Stan and Butters. He sipped his wine. Token beamed."How is it?"
Kyle shrugged, still conscious that he was the center of attention. "It's fine, it's wine. Thanks." He stepped away from the bar sensing that more and more people were seeming to just materialize out of nowhere, red solo cups in hand. The three boys left the bar making room for other people to get their own drinks. Music was set to make the floor vibrate underneath the party-goers' feet. The trio ambled into a room, greeting anyone that they happened to know.
"Hey daywalker!" Cartman shouted at them from across the room. Kyle rolled his eyes. Of course he would be here. Stan kept his eyes on Kyle while Butters waved happily to his friend. Stan still wasn't totally convinced that Cartman wasn't the reason Kyle had been acting strange all week. There was something that did flicker in Kyle's eyes but Stan couldn't really place it. Kyle stayed where he was even as Butters broke from the group to go say hi. Stan frowned and glanced over to where Cartman was with Kenny in tow.
"Has Cartman been bothering you, Kyle?" Stan asked concerned. Kyle looked over at his friend surprised.
"You mean more than usual? No, he's always been such a bundle of sunshine."
"That's not what I mean, you've just been acting strange lately."
Kyle frowned at him. "Been stressed, dude, Cartman has nothing to do with it."
"Well, then let's go over and say hi to him and Kenny." Butters was already across the room talking animatedly to the two. Kyle's feet remained planted stubbornly to the floor.
"No, you can. I think I'm just going to…hang out right here."
Stan raised his eyebrows sure he had to have misheard. "You just want to stand around here alone?"
"I'm not alone, there are other people here," Kyle protested waving his free hand around to indicate all the people in the room while lifting his cup to take another sip of his wine.
"Seriously, dude, what the hell is going on with you?"
"I just!" Kyle cut himself off. "I can't explain it."
"Well, Cartman's eventually going to get over here, you can't just keep running from him."
"Damnit, Stan, I'm not running from Cartman!" Kyle glared daggers at Stan.
"Then what?" Stan asked holding his hands out making sure his vodka didn't slosh around too much. "What's the big deal?" he asked again until a thought hit him. He had wanted to ask before but thought it was too silly. "Is it… Kenny?"
"It doesn't matter," Kyle stated, clearly dodging the question. Stan gave him a doubtful look, as far as he was concerned Kyle had just stated that it definitely had something to do with their blonde friend clad in orange. "I don't want to talk about it here," he whispered harshly at Stan. The other boy was puzzled, obviously Cartman was pretty much stuck to Kenny like glue so why on earth would Kyle be okay with Cartman and not Kenny? Even if Cartman wasn't around Kenny like white on rice, Stan thought that surely Kyle would prefer Kenny over Eric Cartman.
"Hey, Stan, Kahl," Cartman greeted as he, Kenny, and Butters joined them. Kenny said nothing which was expected. Butters looked overjoyed that he had united the group so they weren't on opposite ends of the rooms.
"Hey, Cartman, Kenny," Stan returned the greeting. He noticed their empty hands. "What? You two haven't gone to the bar yet?" he asked raising his solo cup. Kyle said nothing.
Cartman looked at the cup in Stan's hand. "No, we just got here. We were about to head over. Hey, daywalker, you can't say hi, you don't have time to eat lunch with us, but you got time for parties?"
"Cartman, just drop it," Stan said choosing to use a lighter tone as he knew how much Eric Cartman loved to get rises out of people.
"Ahh, sorry, didn't mean to offend your boyfriend."
"Shut up, Cartman," Kyle snapped at him.
Cartman started to say something but was stopped by Kenny. "Show us the bar?" he asked innocently, looking expectantly at the other three. Cartman looked ready to say something else but chose not to.
"Yeah, come on fellas!" Butter exclaimed, heading over to the bar area. "I need more lemonade." The three arrived at the bar area. Token had abandoned his post in favor of mingling so it had turned into self serve. They squeezed past several peers before making it to the alcohol.
"Kenny, you gotta try this vodka!" Stan said excitedly, brandishing the bottle of vodka. It was almost empty so Stan emptied the contents into a fresh solo cup and handed it over to his friend. Kenny drank while Cartman picked up some bottles trying to decide what to have. Butters found his lemonade and refilled it. Kyle awkwardly stood off to the side not engaging in conversation and just observing. Stan watched as Kenny tried the vodka, hoping he liked it. Kenny gulped some down and smiled approvingly at Stan.
"It's great, best I've ever had," Kenny praised and Stan beamed. Cartman gave each of them an odd look before shaking his head and muttering to himself. He finally selected some scotch, picking the Glenfiddich 50 Year Old bottle and pouring a generous amount into his cup. The music had gotten louder and the group moved back into yet another room where a few teenagers had set up a beer pong table, undoubtedly all the cups filled up with copious amounts of expensive beer such as Nail Ale, Blue Ribbon 1844, Jacobsen Vintage, and, Token's favorite, Space Barley. His parents kept a nice stash and while they really only used the alcohol for fancy dinners their son managed to use them frequently, but he was able to replace all the ones he used with the credit cards his parents had supplied him. He would usually find a way to get cash with them from an ATM and find someone who would buy the products with cash he supplied. He always told his parents the cash had gone to a charity. He viewed the parties as a good cause. The boys broke away from the bar once Cartman finished his pour. Kyle dragged behind but still stayed within earshot of the group.
"Damn fine scotch," Cartman said appreciatively sipping his drink as they walked into another room full of party-goers, choosing to skip out on the beer pong. They had gotten used to some of the underage local college kids crashing the parties as there were definitely some older kids at the party but most still under the age of 21 and unable to procure alcohol through legal means.
"Yeah, the drinks here are always so good, aren't they Eric?" Butters asked still happy with his non-alcoholic choice.
Cartman rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Butters, amazing," he muttered offhandedly looking around the room to see who else was around.
Stan grinned over his cup at Kenny. "These parties are always so awesome man! I'm so glad you're here," he said sincerely. "I hope you're having fun." He meant what he said.
Kenny gave a brief half smile and nodded. "I am, thanks, Stan." Stan beamed proudly at him and both Cartman and Kyle narrowed their eyes at him. Both chose to not say anything and took another sip of their drinks. Kyle's narrowed eyes turned to Cartman. Why wasn't Cartman saying anything? He wasn't make any smart remarks regarding Stan's overt attention to Kenny yet he had already made at least one crack about him and Kyle. Was Cartman actually being… nice? The thought made him nearly choke on his wine. Sure, Cartman had matured over the years and became less of an asshole but he was still an asshole, he just wasn't able to get away with as much due to his age. People didn't really give teenagers the same pass they might give to a ten year old. It had to be true, though, that was the only thing Kyle could logically conclude. Cartman was being nice for Kenny's sake.
As if not wanting to be left out, Butters turned to Kenny. "I'm happy you're here, too, Kenny! Cheers!" He raised his cup to his friend. Kenny smiled and this time his smile spread across his face and lit up his eyes. Stan felt his heart flutter and a pang of jealousy that it wasn't him who was the reason for the smile. He lifted his cup up, too.
"Cheers!" Kenny said, his cup meeting both Stan's and Butters'. They weren't fazed that Kyle and Cartman hadn't participated as Cartman had picked up his pace a little, and Kyle was still keeping his distance from the group though he hadn't stopped observing. He grinned a little at their good time. Leave it to Butters to make things jolly. He looked back over at Cartman who had his eyes trained on another group across the room as if debating what he should do. Kyle glanced over and recognized one of the boys as a young college student, definitely someone that Kevin had hung around with. Two boys with him still went to high school and Kyle instantly recognized one as one of the students who had participated in kicking Kenny the first day of school. Maybe this party wasn't the brightest idea. Cartman had stopped, completely ignoring the happy chatter behind him. Stan and Kenny had convinced Butters to try their vodka.
Cartman glanced back behind him before turning around completely. "Finally gonna man up and drink a man's drink?" He teased Butter. "Let's go see if Token's hiding food anywhere in this joint," he said pointing back in the direction they had come.
"We just came from there," Stan complained, "I wanna go to the pool!" Cartman knew who all was behind him and most of the kids at the bar hadn't even noticed Kenny. However, Kevin's friends obviously had as Kyle realized they were pointing in the direction of his group of friends. He closed the gap between him and his friends immediately, choosing to stand near Cartman. There was power in numbers after all.
"Yeah, I am famished," Kyle said agreeably. "We can go to the pool some other time." Cartman glanced at Kyle surprised but his expression turned to one of appreciation.
"I'm hungry, too. This scotch," he said pointing at the solo cup.
Stan frowned at the two, irritated. Kyle sensed trouble. Stan tended to be disagreeable when he was drunk and didn't get his way. "But I want to go to the pool," he whined.
"The pool does sound fun," Kenny offered quietly. Oh, of course Kenny would decide now would be a great time to start having an opinion on how things go, Kyle thought, trying his best to hide his frustration.
Butters spoke up, "The pool sounds great, they probably have food out there, they usually do!" Kyle never wanted to throttle someone so badly. Butters wasn't even drunk.
"If I could fucking throttle you right now, Butters," Cartman whispered dangerously to his friend. Kyle looked over surprised Cartman had basically said what he'd been thinking.
"Cartman, geeze, was that necessary?" Stan demanded at seeing Butters' confused and hurt expression. Cartman opened his mouth to say something but Kyle elbowed him lightly whispering, "Too late." He glanced over his shoulder at the older boys crossing the room towards them. Cartman followed suit and sighed resignedly. The other three exchanged confused looks, they had no idea what was happening until a loud exclamation climbed over the voices and music.
"Hey! Cartman! We see you over there hiding your friend."
Cartman turned around as did Kyle. Stan looked beyond his two friends at the three older boys. Where had they even come from? He drained the rest of his drink and stole a glance at Kenny. He looked ahead, wordless distress clear in his eyes. Stan looked over at him. "Hey," he said hoping his voice sounded reassuring. Kenny looked over at him immediately. Stan went on, "It'll be fine." Clearly Kenny doubted that as one could tell from looking at him. Butters looked on in confusion.
"Maybe they just want a drink, Eric?"
Even Kyle rolled his eyes at this. Cartman didn't turn around but growled murderously under his breath. Butters could be so charming at times but so clueless at other times. The boys stood in front of Cartman and Kyle, all around the same height.
"Why the fuck did you bring him here?" The oldest demanded. Kyle usually knew who was who in town but he had no clue who this person was. He must not have had any younger siblings. "Well?" the boy prompted again. "Kenny, stop hiding behind your friends, you piece of shit."
Cartman and Kyle both glowered and a chorus of "heys!" was heard from the younger group of boys save Kenny. It wasn't often that everyone was in agreement, but they were all equally offended except for Kenny who only became more distressed. Kyle hoped he might could find out why these people had such an obsession with Kenny. Surely, it had to run deeper, it was getting to be just downright creepy. He wondered if they were having the same trouble he'd been having.
"What the fuck gives you the right to say shit to him?!" Cartman snarled. Kyle felt chills at Cartman's tone; he was capable of anything after all and the bigger boy definitely sounded murderous.
"I can say whatever the fuck I want to say to your little boyfriend!" the older boy sneered, inches from Cartman's face.
"He's not his boyfriend," Stan countered, trying to move forward to stand with the other two but a quick tug from Kenny prevented him.
Cartman ignored Stan. "So what if he was?!" he demanded. "Either way, you don't get to say shit!" he yelled back in his face completely unintimidated by how close their faces were. They were maybe inches apart and Kyle thought Cartman might actually be enjoying this. The boy that usually made homophobic remarks seemed totally nonplussed about having a boyfriend. Kenny was sure having a strange effect on people, Kyle thought stealing a glance behind him at the blonde. Shit, he looked totally horrified. Kyle turned back to the boys who had basically formed a circle around them. Where the hell had these other people come from?! Kyle thought wildly as he realized there were several boys that had circled them. Had they just come up out of the floor?
"Uh, fellas?" Butters asked nervously. The chatter was absent in the room as all eyes were on the two groups of boys. Music still blared almost surreally in the background. Noise and laughter could be heard from other rooms in the mansion, even splashes from the pool could be heard. It was some kind of bizarre silence within a cacophony of loud noises in this room.
Stan looked around at the older boys who had formed some kind of circle around them. Did they actually plan to just start…fighting them? Surely not. He stole a quick look over at Kenny trying to gauge his thoughts. Kenny just stared ahead with wide eyes in total disbelief and horror. Butters made a few gulping noises and Cartman taunted the one guy again daring him to try something.
Kyle tried to change the direction this was heading. He held his hands up hoping to calm down the two guys that were in from of him and Cartman. "Hey, we just came here for a good time, not looking for any trouble." It was true, they weren't looking for trouble. Cartman rolled his eyes but said nothing waiting for a response.
"Why the hell does he get to come here and have a good time? The rest of his family can't. How do we know he won't decide to off us?" The words hit Stan hard and he was spitting mad in his drunken anger. He lurched forward without warning swinging at the nearest target. The older boy grunted at the contact before returning his own punch. Suddenly there was a flurry of activity and fists were being swung at each other while curses filled the air along with sound of flesh contacting with flesh and drinks splashing to the floor. A few shouts of protest could be heard mostly from Butters and Kenny. Kyle dodged a punch and countered with a low sweeping kick bringing the boy before him to the floor. The boy started to get up but Kyle kicked him again. He certainly wasn't going to let him get up. In his peripheral vision, he saw a fist coming towards him but easily caught it, surprising the other, countering with his own fist, and kicking him hard to the floor. He glanced around trying to get his bearings quickly while he had a second. He spotted Stan whaling on someone in his drunken state, those two were nearly at a wall. Butters had been knocked unconscious and was sprawled on the floor, lemonade on him. Kyle assumed that the unconscious person Kenny was hitting repeatedly was the one responsible for Butters' condition. Cartman had managed to cross the room with two of the boys, fighting both. Kyle honestly couldn't tell if he was winning or losing. He was still conscious and bruised and bleeding but so were the other two. Regardless, Cartman sure looked like he was enjoying himself. It was a little unnerving. Kyle kicked at the boys he'd taken down again to see if they were in any hurry to get back up. Low moans answered his question and he moved over to see how Butters was doing and to calm down Kenny. He was soon to find that was easier said than done.
"Kenny," Kyle said coming up beside him. His friend either didn't hear him or completely ignored him, punching some more on the hapless older boy beneath him. "Kenny! He's unconscious." Still no acknowledgement. "Kenny!" Kyle cried, his voice rising in alarm as he realized Kenny wasn't going to stop until someone pulled him off. He grabbed at his friend's flailing arms but was easily shoved away. He didn't want to have to hurt his friend to get him to stop. "Kenny! Come on, dude!" He yelled again hoping the sound would jolt his friend. It didn't have effect on Kenny but Kyle's voice and pleas quickly registered in Stan's mind, and he pushed the boy he'd been exchanging punches with hard against the wall before quickly spinning around to see what had caused so much concern in Kyle's voice. Kenny was hitting an unconscious boy beneath him rather hard. It was another bout of déjà vu for Stan. He watched as Kyle attempted to pull Kenny off the boy again and was shoved away, falling onto his bottom, eyes wide with shock. Stan quickly crossed over to Kenny ignoring the taunts from the boy behind him, no longer caring to pay him any more attention. He was between Kyle and Kenny in almost an instant. He stood behind Kenny and firmly grabbed his forearms holding them suspended above the boy so Kenny couldn't make contact again. Kenny struggled to get him off but Stan tightened his grip firmly. He was becoming increasingly aware of the audience their fight had gotten. The room was starting to fill up with whispers over the music. Stan leaned forward so he could speak low enough that only Kenny would hear him.
"Kenny, it's me, Stan." Stan said. Kenny went lax at this revelation. Stan continued, "He's unconscious. I need you to stop hitting him, okay?" Kenny nodded slowly and Stan loosened his grip on his friend's forearms. "Good, good. Why don't you stand up now." Kenny nodded again and slowly rose, his eyes still trained on the bloody face he'd been punching repeatedly.
Kyle watched as Stan whispered something in Kenny's ear that instantly relaxed him and brought him back to this world. He stood up himself and stood closer to where Butters, Stan, and Kenny were since they were each occupied and he'd heard stirs from some of the boys that were on the floor near them. The boy Stan had been hitting was already heading that way and Cartman was still dealing with the two. A loud resounding "STOP!" filled the room. Suddenly the room was in silence even the music that had been blaring was cut off. Token stood in the room looking the picture of fury.
He marched towards Cartman and the other two yelling for them to stop again. Cartman and the two disengaged each looking over at Token with surprise. Kyle wasn't sure if they were feigning the surprise or if they were truly surprised that Token would decide to break up a fight at his party. Kyle knew from others that Token did usually try to throw out people if they were fighting but he usually didn't put the whole party on pause.
The guy that had been screaming with Cartman earlier bared his teeth. "Or what? What are you doing to do if we don't?"
Token was taken aback as he hadn't expected the response. "This is my house. You can't stay if you're fighting like this."
"What about them?" the guy asked waving his hand at Cartman and the others.
"I'll take care of them."
"Oh, of course. I see," the guy snarled not happy with the response. "You're part of their little group."
Token steeled himself not liking where this was going. "I said I'll take care of it. You can't be here any longer."
"Or what?" the guy prompted again. "What are you doing to do? Call the police? How are you going to explain all of this alcohol?"
"Just get out," Token ground out between clenched teeth. "Get out now. I will call if I have to."
Cartman shot the guy a dirty look. "We'll tell them we got it from you. You must be 21 right?"
Cartman must have hit the mark because the guy paled and spewed out a few curse words before getting up and telling his friends to join. Token waited until they exited save for their unconscious friend and one who had decided to stay with him. Token then announced to all party-goers that the party was over. Kyle was stunned. He heard the parties usually went on to clear early in the morning. He glanced at his watch and it was only nearing midnight. There were groans and boos and moans, but people started texting friends and chatting and soon there was talk of moving the party to another house in town. Token ignored all of it and walked over to Kyle, Stan, Butters, Kenny, Cartman, and the other two guys. "Obviously, you can stay until Butters gets up," he said giving a nod to Butters. He looked at the other guy. "You too, but it would be better if we could get to separate rooms."
"We'll move Butters," Kyle volunteered. "There's more of us so it'll be easier."
Token nodded gratefully. "Thanks."
"Sorry about your party," Kyle apologized feeling bad he was caught up in it.
The guy that had been fighting with Stan earlier glared at the group clearly wanting them to get to another room quickly. He knelt down by his unconscious friend and wiped some blood off his face, shaking him lightly trying to get him to awake.
Token shook his head at Kyle. "Don't sweat it. I just want these two guys to wake up." He said indicating Butters and the other boy he didn't know.
Stan carefully hoisted Butters up with Cartman. The two had him between them, each getting an arm over their shoulder. "Can we use a room upstairs?" he called out to Token.
"Stan, what the fuck? I am not dragging Butters all the way upstairs. They have rooms down here." Cartman vented staring at Stan like he had grown a second head.
"Then lead the way," Stan said accommodatingly. He really wasn't in the mood to argue with Cartman. He shifted a little to get a better grip on Butters, who was thankfully starting to moan as his feet dragged along the floor. Kyle followed partially down the hall but stopped when he realized they had left someone behind. He quickly backpedaled not saying anything as he didn't want Stan or Cartman to suddenly drop Butters. He figured Stan might if he realized Kenny wasn't following.
Kyle found Kenny just at the edge of the hall staring numbly ahead as Token spoke to the conscious boy that had been involved in the fight. Token was speaking animatedly to the boy that must have been only a year or two older than them. Token had a smile so Kyle assumed that the conversation was going well. He stood next to Kenny wondering how long it would take for Kenny to notice him. After a minute he decided to nudge his friend with his elbow. Kenny's eyes quickly snapped over to him. Kyle nodded down the hallway that Cartman and Stan had disappeared into. "Come on," he whispered not wanting to draw any attention to them. They really had had enough attention as it was. Kenny nodded silently and followed Kyle down the hallway saying nothing.
"Those fuckers ditched us!" Cartman's voice could be head from further up the hall. "Lazy little fuckers leaving us to drag Butters up the hallway." Kyle rolled his eyes catching a glimpse of Stan's jet-black hair before it disappeared into a room further up the hall. He heard Stan grumble something to Cartman but wasn't able to hear what was said.
"I should leave," Kenny said abruptly inspecting his knuckles that had blood smeared on them. He had spoken aloud but it sounded as if he was speaking to himself rather than Kyle. "I need to leave." He started to turn around but Kyle quickly put an end to that by hooking his arm around the other's elbow and waiting until Kenny looked back at him. When he finally did Kyle made sure to keep his voice steady and steely.
"You're not going anywhere right now, Kenny. No way, no how, not after what just happened. You're not going alone and you're not leaving us yet. We'll figure out what to do after Butters gets up."
Kyle shuddered at the response he got. Laughter void of cheer came from his friend's throat. "Kyle, there's not much to figure out, is there." It was a statement, not a question. "Butters is unconscious because of me. The whole fight was because of me. The party ended because of me. I don't think we really need to discuss it." A long-suffering sigh escaped his lips, and he blew some strands of his hair out of his face carelessly. "I told Eric going to school was a bad idea. That coming here was a bad idea."
"So this was all Cartman's idea. I figured as much." Kyle was unsurprised that it was Cartman's idea. He was surprised that Cartman had talked Kenny into all this. "What did he do, bribe you? Blackmail?"
Kenny shook his head. "No, he didn't bribe or blackmail me. He just-" Kenny cut himself off looking a little uncomfortable as if he wasn't sure if he should share the information or not.
"He what?" Kyle prompted, genuinely curious. They kept walking slowly towards the door up the hallway. Kenny took note that Kyle was a little on edge with him.
"I'll tell you when you tell me why you've been avoiding me," Kenny offered. Kyle reacted as if he'd been struck with a hot fire iron, immediately jerking his arm out of Kenny's elbow, and stepping away, coming to a complete halt. His wary eyes met Kenny's doleful ones. Kyle absently fiddled with the ends of his sleeves, totally caught off-guard. He didn't realize Kenny could be so perceptive. It was stuff like this that reminded him that everyone was having to basically re-acquaint themselves with their old friend. So much had changed. Kenny remained quiet waiting for an answer. Kyle opened his mouth but then promptly shut it with a quick shake of his head.
"No, it's not important," he said quietly. "I'm sorry if it's come off that way. I've just been having strange dreams…" he trailed off glancing in both directions fearful someone might be eavesdropping on them.
"About?"
"Just- they're not good." Kyle sighed. "I don't really want to talk about them. Maybe another day." There was a pregnant pause and Kyle realized that if he didn't expand on his night terrors Kenny wouldn't expand on how Cartman had convinced him to re-enter their lives. Still, he wasn't comfortable revealing his nightmares as he still wasn't sure if they were only that. He was starting to suspect not but wouldn't that mean he was crazy? He couldn't make any sense of them and the source was standing before him inquiring about them. It made him shudder with exhaustion and what he hoped was misplaced terror.
"Hey are you two coming or what?" Stan was suddenly by them glancing between the two of them confused. The air was thick with tension and it unnerved him. Kyle glanced back at Kenny waiting for his response. He wondered how Kenny would respond to Stan. As suspected the reaction was worlds apart from his response to Kyle. There was a quirk at the corners of his mouth almost like he wanted to smile. His eyes brightened and he nodded.
"Yeah," he said simply, not elaborating any further. Stan smiled brightly at him. Kyle sighed inwardly. He wasn't sure he liked how much Stan was becoming attached to Kenny who had just a few moments ago expressed his desire to simply vanish back into the void he had come from. Stan's eyes flickered over to him and Kyle offered a thin smile.
"I'm coming, too. We were just having a little…chat," Kyle said.
Stan looked surprised but shrugged. "Well, come on in and chat in here unless you don't want Cartman to hear."
"It's fine," Kyle said realizing rather quickly that he and Kenny likely both did not want Cartman to know the contents of their chat, but if he knew that he would never stop until he knew why. "We were finished, we just lost sight of you so weren't sure which room you guys had gone to," he lied smoothly. Kenny didn't protest and Stan didn't question. He led the two into the room where Cartman did not look pleased.
"Where the hell were you two? Did you get lost or something?"
"Actually, they did," Stan answered with a laugh.
Cartman shook his head. "Lame," he rolled his eyes. "This is why the Jew never comes. He can't navigate his way around anything."
"Cartman!" Kyle exclaimed indignantly. "It's not our fault you didn't wait around, fatass." He knew Cartman wasn't nearly as big as he used to be, but he also knew the other hated the old nickname. Cartman didn't have time to snap back because another voice joined the group.
"Hey, guys." Four heads turned towards the doorway to see Craig there with Tweek peeking in from behind. Tweek held a roll of paper towels in his hand and offered it up to the boys who still had blood on them. It didn't help much with the clothes but at least everyone could clean the blood off their skin whether it was theirs or someone else's.
"Hey, asshole," Cartman piped up, looking over at Craig. "What do you want?"
"Token told me to come find you guys. He kicked everyone else out so you guys can come out if you want."
"Really?" Kyle asked stunned. "I thought he wanted us to all go?"
Craig shrugged. "Nah, Kyle come on, this is the first party you've been to of his in forever and this is the first big party Kenny's been to. Did you really think he was just going to kick you out?" He held a cigarette between his fingers surveying them all through an expressionless gaze as if he was just stating an obvious fact like that the Earth was the third planet from the sun.
"Fucking sweet, man!" Cartman exclaimed. "About time Token realized how much I mean to him!"
"Shut up Cartman!" more than one voice said but Cartman just shrugged already thinking of his next drink.
"Awesome!" Stan couldn't hide his excitement either. Kyle glanced over at Stan and then took a quick peek at Kenny who had said nothing. He wondered what was going through his head.
"Kyle? Kenny?" Craig questioned, his monotone actually giving way to true curiosity. "Are you two going to stay?" Stan quickly looked over to them, it hadn't occurred to him they would even consider leaving, but neither responded immediately and Stan felt his stomach sinking with disappointment. He wanted them both to stay.
"Please guys!" He pleaded. "Stay, it'll be fun! Token has an awesome gaming system we can play. Or cards or we can watch something." He sounded like a little kid begging his parents to let him stay out later with his friends. Kyle and Kenny both softened a little and each nodded their heads.
"Sure," Kyle said with a bit of resignation but tried his best not to let it show.
"Okay," Kenny said but his uncertainty was definitely not hidden at all.
"All right!" Butters' weak voice suddenly filled the air and he got a round of applause from everyone along with various, "Welcome back, Butters!" and "Are you okay, man?" After assuring everyone that he was, the group made their way back to the bar. They found Token there cleaning up. He saw them and offered up a bright smile.
"Hey, Butters!" He greeted, happy to see his friend walking around on his own. "How are you?"
"Doing much better now!" Butters' cheerful voice responded and Token looked relieved. The last thing he needed was anyone having to go to the hospital.
"Good to hear!" Token was genuinely happy that the situation seemed to be resolving itself. "Up for round two? I can pour or mix drinks or whatever. Or just the usuals?" Cartman, Stan, Craig, Tweek, and Butters all nodded their heads and muttered, "yeah" or "the usual." Token nodded and started pouring various drinks or grabbing bottles. When Craig grabbed his rum, Token asked if he could set up the gaming system in the other room. Craig nodded. He waited for Tweek to get his drink, the Baileys Irish Cream in coffee, and then waited for Stan, too. Stan at first refused to leave with them, but Craig didn't give him much choice nearly dragging him out of the room.