Chapter Text
“....Someone can be acting differently, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with them, right?”
Mrs. Kim blinked at him for a moment before exhaling quietly. “Um, why do you ask?”
Kyle shifted in his seat for the twelfth time in the ten minutes he’s been in it. He stared at his therapist as he figured out how to go about wording his question.
“Like, say you have a friend.” He paused, waiting for her confirmation that she was following with a nod. “And they’ve always been really weird, right? Super rude, loud, destructive–”
“Eric Cartman?” She suggested.
He narrowed his eyes at her, “Yeah. He’s been acting off lately.”
“Oh, that’s never a good sign.” She hissed.
“I didn’t think so either. He’s been acting weird for the past few days, and nobody fucking believes me! I mean, I’ve told Stan, Kenny, my parents, Mr. Garrison–”
“The gay one?”
“Yeah?” She made a note on her laptop.
“A–Anyway, I’ve told a whole bunch of people, but it’s weird. It’s like nobody thinks he’s acting weirdly or like nobody thinks that what I’m saying is worth looking into. I mean it’s like everybody is blind! He does this shit constantly, and it’s like I’m the only person who’s seeing a change in his behavior! Everyone thinks I’m crazy!”
She frowned, “I see how that can make you feel upset.” There she went, stating the obvious after every sentence he said like every single therapist does. “Maybe their problem believing you has something to do with the fact you’re up his ass all the time.”
Kyle looked at her sideways, “What the fuck? Excuse me?”
“No offense of course. It’s just…It’s clear as day to everybody that you’re obsessed with him. I mean, you’re clung to him twenty-four-seven. Maybe they think you’re in love with him, and you’re not serious about it. Or you’re just doing it for attention.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I’m around him all the time ‘cause he’s a fucking stalker who breaks into my house whenever he wants! He lives in my neighborhood, and I’ve known him my entire life, what am I supposed to do? I hate him.”
She sucked her teeth, “Yeah, that’s the problem. You say you hate him, but have you ever tried to get rid of him? Maybe lock your windows, get a restraining order on him, move to a different state. There are options, but it doesn’t seem like you hate him since you aren’t actively searching out ways to avoid him. Plus, you feed into him all the time.”
Kyle scoffed and held up a finger, “Okay, first of all. I do lock my windows, he found a lockpick, and I…I just stopped trying to fight it.” She hummed and typed onto her laptop, “Second of all, I never thought about that stuff, so…Don’t think you’re so smart. No matter what I do, Eric is always going to find a way to make my life miserable whether I move to the opposite side of the Earth or even go to space ! You just don’t get it because you haven’t fucking dealt with him. You’d feel just as powerless as me!”
“No, I wouldn’t, Kyle. If he breaks into your house as frequently as you say he does, why not call the police on him? You don’t do anything to stop him. You just bitch and whine about him to me every single time you visit. You’ve been here for fifteen minutes, and it’s been non-stop talking about Eric Cartman ! I don’t even bother to ask you how you’ve been doing since the last time I saw you, because it’s the same thing every time!” Mrs. Kim yelled, “ Eric did this, Eric did that, Eric stole my sandwich at lunch on Tuesday, I beat Eric up for calling me a faggot but only I got in trouble, Eric tried to murder me with a fucking knife while I was taking a shower at my house. But it’s never what you did! Which is nothing ! You don’t do shit to put an end to the things he does! Why don’t you do something about his strange behavior since it’s bothering you so much? I haven’t heard any downsides to it, personally. He’s been quiet, staying out of trouble, and leaving you alone. What, you want him to hate crime you? You want him to be a nuisance? Why are you questioning it and going,” She put on a voice that made Kyle feel like he was stupid, “ What’s the deal with him? Jesus Christ, make up your mind! Now you see why people think you’re in love with him!”
“Nobody thinks I’m in love with Cartman, you’re insane !” Kyle screamed.
“Everybody knows you are! You’re in love with Eric, and you’re in denial about it! That’s why nobody believes you, because everybody in this damn town are retards , who can’t see when something bad is happening. Ninety percent of the shit he does, he gets away with, so it looks like you’re fucking psychotic and blame him for nothing! Open your eyes Kyle, nothing is going to get better! Just stop trying!” She screamed back.
Kyle stood up from his chair and glared down at her, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the psychopath!”
“Stop trying! I’m telling you, it’s only going to make things worse for you!” Mrs. Kim screamed after him. She stood up and grabbed his arm with a grip so tight he couldn’t yank it away from her.
“Stop! You’re hurting me!”
Her face opened up as she screeched at him. His eyes widened and he cried and screamed as he peered down into her insides from the gaping hole in her face.
Kyle woke up in his bed. He jumped up, skin coated with sweat, heart pounding and breathing heavily. He glanced over at his closed window, and sighed in relief. He clutched his chest and slowed his breathing before sighing again. “Oh, god…”
He fell back onto his pillows, giving one last huff before closing his eyes again.
“What’s wrong with you ?” Eric whispered.
Kyle’s eyes widened as he turned his head to look at the boy laying in his bed right next to him . He wanted to scream, punch him, push the boy onto the floor off of his bed. But instead, he let out a tiny breath to stabilize himself, which did nothing but make his heart beat even faster. “What the hell are you doing in my room?”
“Oh, you know, just hangin’ out.”
“Uh-huh. Why are you in my bed though? Watching me sleep?” Kyle whispered as tears threatened to escape his eyes, a mix of frustration and being scared, nervous.
“Your bed’s a lot more comfortable than mine.” Eric shrugged nonchalantly. “I spend a lot of time in here while you’re sleeping, you know.”
Kyle nodded stiffly, “Right…right..”
The two stayed silent for a moment as Kyle processed everything. He glanced over at Cartman again. The boy was staring at him with a sinister smile, which cracked Kyle’s facade. The ginger boy screamed loudly and stumbled onto the floor out of the bed.
Kyle jumped up in his bed as he made contact with the hard wood. The same thing, skin sticky and sweaty, breathing heavily, and heart beating out of his chest.
“A…a dream within a dream?” He rasped out, looking over the spot next to him. He was met with emptiness and relief, which immediately disappeared as he glanced over at the open window on the other side of his room.
Eric only left his window open when he left, to fuck with him and let him know he had been in his room while he was sleeping, vulnerable, unable to do anything about it. Jesus, why didn’t he ever hear the guy when he was there? The bitch was like three-thousand pounds, he quiet could he sneak around?!
God, he was fucked. He thought, but he still felt a little safe considering the boy was out of his room now, and nothing seemed to be missing or moved. What was the point of sneaking in so much if he never did anything? Did he do it just to make Kyle feel helpless, or to watch him sleep? Gross.
Kyle slipped out of his bed and closed the window, making sure to lock it, although he had before he went to bed, and that didn’t seem to do anything so far. Maybe he would do something about Eric’s strange new behavior in the morning at school, like dream Mrs. Kim said. Maybe the fact he was still sneaking around and presumably scheming was a good sign. Kyle never thought he’d say that.
The boy grumbled back to his bed and pulled the covers over him again, closing his eyes and falling back into slumber.
What Kyle didn’t hear was the creak that came from under his bed.