If anyone has any suggestions on which places they should visit, feel free to leave it in a comment. Right now, I remember they were going to Yellowstone, Niagara Falls, and New York City. Can't really think of where else they were going. Somewhere in Florida, maybe. Anyway, feel free to give me ideas.
Chapter 16 – That Awkward Moment When you realize that everyone is in a relationship except you and the person you're in love with
"You don't know me"
Unfortunately, the hotel Randy picked for their stay in San Francisco wasn't nearly as glamorous as the one in Las Vegas. But Randy argued that if they stayed in luxury hotels all the time, then he would go broke before they even reached July. He originally was going to only order one room when they got there, but everyone pointed out how stupid that idea was and so he went with three rooms, grumbling under his breath the entire time.
They didn't stay in the rooms for long though, since it was only around dinner time. The rooms were all gray with more gray. Even the paintings on the walls were just gray. Not stylish gray either. Just an ugly gray. The rooms were so gray that Butters ran into one of the beds because he couldn't see it and thought there was only one bed.
After putting their stuff away, Gerald looked up where the nearest restaurant was that everyone would be happy with (which wasn't the easiest thing to do when they had a group of ten and nearly all of them had wildly varying tastes). He eventually found a place that sounded good, called "The Island." There were supposedly all varieties of food, so no one was allowed to bitch about it.
Since it was so close by, Gerald and Randy insisted that they walk there, and Cartman somehow managed to hiss at every single person they passed along the way. He was still grumbling about the fact that they were in San Francisco, having gone back to having a sour mood.
"What's got you in such a bad mood?" Stan asked as Cartman hissed at another person. "You know, besides the usual stuff?"
"I told you," Cartman growled. "I hate San Francisco! It's a breeding ground for hippies! It's all this city's fault that we have hippies crawling around America."
"I'm pretty sure San Francisco did not cause the hippy movement," Wendy said, rolling her eyes. "The hippy movement just started in San Francisco."
"Because San Francisco created the hippy movement, exactly," Cartman replied, nodding. Wendy sighed but decided not to argue with him.
The restaurant was pleasant enough when they got there. Not surprisingly, it was island themed, but it was the island of Alcatraz, with the waiters dressed as prison guards. Despite this, they thankfully didn't just serve prison food (not anymore, at least). And the place had something for all of them. It wasn't terribly busy since it was after rush hours, so they were able to order and get their food and drinks rather quickly.
"You know, all things considered, this place isn't half bad," Butters said as he nibbled on his tater tots.
"Yeah, I was expecting something way worse," Kenny said. "It's better than frozen waffles every day, at least."
"Wow. Such a high bar to clear," Cartman said, rolling his eyes. Kenny flipped him off before going back to his chicken fingers.
They all got to talking about different things, and it was then that Stan noticed that Kyle had barely said a word since their discussion about Angela. He didn't know what was wrong with his friend. He had been acting weird for a while, actually. He wanted to ask him about it, but he didn't know if Kyle would be truthful with him. After all, he hadn't been honest the first time Stan had asked him what was wrong.
At least Kyle was actually eating. He wasn't really doing anything but eating, but there had been times when his best friend would be so caught up in his own thoughts that he forgot to eat, so Stan considered this a win. He was glad he and Kyle were sitting at the end of the table so no one could really notice how unresponsive they both were.
He hated to think that Kyle was hiding something from him, especially with how… disturbed Kyle seemed to be. He wouldn't look anyone in the eye, and he barely seemed to notice what was going on around him. Did this have something to do with Angela? Her appearance was when he started acting weird. Had Angela really messed him up that much?
"STAN!" Wendy shouted in his ear, startling him out of his thoughts.
"Wh-What?" He gasped, clutching his chest.
"I was asking if you wanted some of my fries," she said, gesturing to her plate.
"Oh! Um, thanks," Stan muttered, taking a few and shoving them in his mouth. Wendy smiled sweetly at him in return.
"Are you alright, Stan?" She asked him.
"I'm fine," he lied. "I'm just thinking about all the stuff we'll do while we're here. And, um, wondering if Alcatraz is really haunted."
"It's not," Craig said at the same time Butters said, "It is!"
"We should take the night tour, then," Wendy suggested. "Then we can see if it's really haunted or not." On her other side, Tweek flinched, twitching nervously.
"I-I don't know," he said. "That sounds terrifying! What if the ghosts curse us? AH! Too much pressure!"
"I'm with Tweek," Butters said, rubbing his knuckles together. "W-We don't want the ghosts to eat us." Craig let out an annoyed sigh.
"There's no such thing as ghosts," he said, rolling his eyes. "And they certainly don't eat us. We'll be perfectly safe. And I'll be with you the entire time, Tweek."
"What about me?" Butters asked nervously.
"Stop being a wuss," Craig ordered.
…
"Do you believe Cartman's telling the truth about his accident?" Stan asked once they were back in the rooms. They had divided the rooms so that Wendy, Stan, Kyle and Butters shared a room, while the rest of their friends took the other room. The beds weren't too uncomfortable, and they were big enough that the four of them could sleep comfortably without being too crowded.
At Stan's question, Kyle looked up from where he had been painting Wendy's nails and blinked at him. Wendy had asked Kyle to paint her nails for her because it was hard to paint one's own nails with their nondominant hand, and for some reason, she didn't trust Butters or Stan to do it. Besides, Butters was on the floor, coloring pictures and humming to himself.
"You mean when he said that bitch whacked him over the head with a paddle?" Kyle clarified. He didn't wait for a response before adding, "yeah, I believe him."
It was Stan's turn to blink, and he stared at his friend with surprise. "Really?" He asked.
"It's Angela we're talking about," Kyle said, rolling his eyes. "Yes, I think she'd be so petty as to try and kill him for defending me. Besides, what else could have hit him in the back of the head?"
"A tree branch," Butters said from the floor. Kyle leaned over the bed to give him a look.
"How would a tree branch hit him in back of the head, dumbass?" He growled.
"I thought he was making that part up," Stan confessed with a shrug. "Or was misremembering. Maybe he fell overboard first, then hit his head on a rock and he just got the events out of order or something."
"How did he fall overboard in the first place, though?" Wendy asked, holding up the hand Kyle had just finished painting so she could inspect her newly painted nails. "I seriously doubt he just leaned over and fell out."
"So, you believe him too, Wendy?" Stan asked, surprised.
"Maybe," she replied, holding out her other hand for Kyle. "The thing is, I don't think I can pass judgement. She ruined my life too. I feel like anything I say is just looking for reasons to hate her. I want to believe Eric. But I want to believe that she changed for my peace of mind."
"Did you stop to think that maybe you're refusing to believe him because you still have some feelings for her?" Kyle asked nonchalantly, concentrating on Wendy's nails. Stan was glad that the two of them weren't looking at him, so they didn't see him flinch or look guilty.
"I lost all feelings for her the moment she tried to kill me," he muttered. "I just… want to make sure it actually happened, and it isn't just Cartman's paranoia."
"Eric can be kinda paranoid at times," Butters agreed from the floor. There was a moment of silence, as none of them had anything else to add. Hopefully, they wouldn't be seeing Angela again, so it didn't really matter. Finally, Stan spoke again.
"You know," he said, "it's kind of weird to watch my best friend paint the nails of my girlfriend."
"It's only weird if you make it weird," Wendy said with a grin.
"It's weird," Stan insisted.
"It's not weird," Wendy replied, still with a wide grin.
In the other room, things were rather quiet. Kenny had wanted to watch TV, but the hotel was so cheap that it only had a small, bulky TV that only got three channels. And one of the channels only showed re-runs of Full House. Craig and Tweek were curled up together on their own bed, reading a book. Craig had to be the one who held said book because Tweek read too fast. Cartman appeared to be deep in thought.
"I'm glad the rest of San Francisco isn't as shitty as this hotel room," Kenny eventually sighed, throwing down the remote in frustration. "And that we won't be staying here for long."
"The rat in the bathroom was pretty cute, though," Tweek said, not looking up from the book.
"I don't really want vermin in the place I'm supposed to bathe myself, though," Craig said. "It feels like I would be better off being sweaty and gross at that point."
"You're not allowed to kiss me, then," Tweek insisted.
As Craig blinked in shock at him, Cartman suddenly looked up from his deep thought trance and glanced around. After a moment of thought, he stood up and turned to Kenny.
"Hey Kenny," he said. "I think I accidentally left something important in the RV. Will come and help me look for it?" Kenny blinked at him in surprise.
"Um, sure," he said. "I don't have anything better to do anyway." He made sure to grab one of the room keys and shove it in his pocket before following Cartman out the door. They were on the fifth floor, and Kenny didn't feel like taking the stairs, so they took the elevator.
"So… I'm assuming that you didn't actually leave something in the RV," Kenny said once they were in the lobby. Cartman stiffened, but didn't look at him.
"Maybe," he muttered. "I have… something I want to… talk to you about… Something I really don't want others to listen in on." Kenny nodded and led the way out the door and towards the parking lot where their camper was parked. Thankfully, both Randy and Gerald had forgotten to lock it.
Once the two of them were inside, they slid into the booth and table, sitting opposite of each other. Kenny calmly folded his hands on the table and looked over at Cartman, who seemed to be at war with himself. The larger boy wouldn't look him in the eye for the longest time.
"So… are you going to tell me what was so important?" Kenny asked eventually. Cartman let out a long sigh, glancing over at him.
"Well, something has been… eating away at me," he said. "And I know it'll be very shocking to hear, but I feel like you're the only one I can talk to about this."
"I feel so honored," Kenny replied, putting a hand over his heart. Cartman couldn't decide if he was being sarcastic or not, so he decided to ignore the comment for now. Instead, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Ok, well, here it goes," he said. He took another deep breath. "I…" Then he paused as Kenny stared at him. "Am…" Another pause. "In." Pause. "Love." Big pause. Kenny was getting impatient. "With." Very long pause. Kenny leaned forward in his seat. "A." Kenny deflated, looking annoyed. "Certain."
"I KNOW YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH KYLE!" Kenny shouted suddenly, cutting him off. Cartman stared back at him in shock, the words dying in his throat. It took him a moment to recover.
"Wha-? H-How did you know?" He asked. Oh god! Had he really been that obvious?!
"Kyle already told me," Kenny explained. Cartman gaped at him.
"When?"
"This morning," Kenny said. "When you and everyone else went river rafting." He sat there for a moment, thinking, while Cartman continued to stare in shock at him. "Although," he said slowly, "I just remembered he told me not to tell you that he told me what you told him. So… if you could not tell Kyle that I told you that he told me, that would be great." Cartman frowned.
"Dude," he sighed.
"I'm sorry!" Kenny replied. "I was going to pretend I didn't know but, well…" Nervous, Cartman shifted uncomfortably in his seat, staring down at the table.
"What did… Kyle say?" He asked eventually. "About my… confession?" Kenny hesitated.
"He's… confused," he replied. "He doesn't know how to feel about any of this. At least, that's what he told me. I asked him how he felt about you, and he couldn't answer."
That wasn't a good sign. Cartman sighed and looked up at Kenny with desperation in his eyes.
"What should I do, Kenny?" He asked. "I want him to be happy, and I was never intending to tell him. But then Angela came along and it just… I don't know. I don't want to hurt him with this." He looked back down at the table. "I wish I hadn't told him."
Kenny was silent for a moment, looking at his friend with sadness. He reached across the table and placed a hand gently over one of Cartman's before speaking.
"Kyle is… well, he's put up a large, impenetrable wall around himself," he said softly. "I think he's gone through so many heartbreaks that he's afraid of opening up to anyone. Even his own friends. He's been hurt so many times, that he's decided he's better off alone."
"Has he said that to you?" Cartman asked, his eyes wide.
"No," Kenny said, shaking his head. "But I can see it. I don't even think he's consciously thought that. He gets this look in his eyes whenever relationships are brought up."
"This is all my fault," Cartman sighed, burying his face in his hands. "I'm the one who broke him. I'm the one who messed up all of his relationships. I'm surprised he even looks in my direction, let alone talk to me."
"You didn't ruin all of his relationships," Kenny said. "Just two. And anyway, he's forgiven you for that. And you've changed since then."
"That's not the point!" Cartman groaned. "You can't argue that I'm not the reason he has trust issues! Because I am! If I hadn't been so self-centered…" He let out a sigh of defeat. Kenny gave him a sympathetic look.
"You really do love him, don't you?" He said. There were tears in Cartman's eyes as he looked back up at him.
"I really do, Ken," he said. "Not that it matters. He doesn't want me. When this summer is over, I'll stay away from him. He probably won't want to be friends anymore anyway." Kenny cocked his head to the side.
"Did he tell you that's what he wants?" He asked. Cartman blinked in surprise.
"N-No," he admitted. "He didn't really say what he wanted. He just told me he was confused and uncertain about everything." He let out a sigh, looking out the window into the darkness. "What should I do, Kenny? I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to lose him, but… I can't really take what I said back."
"You need to talk to Kyle, dude," Kenny said. "You two need to talk it out with each other. Figure out what you both want from this." Cartman smiled weakly at him.
"When did you become the smartest of us, Kenny?" He asked.
"I like to think I was always the smartest of us," Kenny said with a grin.
Cartman hesitated for a moment, nervousness replacing his smile. "Just tell me this, Ken," he said softly. "Do you think I have… you know… a chance… with him?" Kenny leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I think Kyle can answer that better than I can," he answered honestly. "But, for what it's worth, I think you two would be great together."
"Thanks, Kenny," Cartman sighed, smiling a more genuine smile.
When the two of them got back to their room (Cartman holding a pen as the "something important that he forgot"), they were shocked to see Wendy, Stan, Kyle and Butters also sitting around in the room. Cartman tried not to look nervous as he sat down on the bed where Kyle was sitting.
"What are you guys doing in here?" Kenny asked, looking around.
"We were discussing what we wanted to do in San Francisco," Stan explained. "We want to get the most out of the place after all. We already knew that we were going to go to Alcatraz at night, and Wendy found out that there's a chocolate factory around here."
"The Ghirardelli chocolate factory, to be precise," Wendy added.
"What? Why didn't the author tell us this before?!" Kenny gasped.
"Because she didn't know there was a chocolate factory when she went and now she's angry with herself about it," Wendy said. "And jealous."
"She needs to stop breaking the fourth wall so much," Craig sighed.
NEVER!
Anyway, Tweek twitched nervously at the thought of going to a haunted island at night, but he also loved chocolate, so he supposed it balanced out. And Craig would be with him. Craig was tough and fearless.
"We're also taking a vote over whether Alcatraz is haunted or not," Stan said. "Tweek, Butters and Wendy think it's haunted—"
"I said I was open-minded to the idea," Wendy corrected.
"And Craig, Kyle and I don't think it's haunted," Stan continued. "So, we need your votes."
"It might be haunted," Kenny said at the same time that Cartman said, "there's no way in hell it's haunted."
"Oh boy," Butters said nervously. "We're going to need a tie breaker. We should ask Mr. Marsh and Mr. Broflovski."
"That wouldn't break the tie," Tweek pointed out.
"Yeah, I already know my dad believes in ghosts and Kyle's dad doesn't," Stan said, rolling his eyes. "That's gonna get us nowhere."
"Well, we'll find out tomorrow night then," Kyle said in a low voice.
"Haunted prison, here we come!" Wendy cheered. "Oh, and I guess we'll do some other things too. China Town… chocolate… stuff…"
"Ach!" Tweek shouted in Craig's ear.
I have no idea where to end this chapter, so I'm just going to end it here. I'm planning on something very important happening soon, so look forward to that. I know most of this chapter was just talking, but it was very important talking. Next time, they'll be exploring San Francisco and going ghost hunting, so that should be fun. And Angela totally won't be in the rest of the fan fiction. And they totally won't be running into Dr. Pidd either. Everything's going to be perfectly fine! Have fun!
