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A parent free night. Eric Cartman has six hours ahead of him where Liane finally isn’t home. And what does Eric choose to do? Watch his favorite movies and eat as much snacks and junk food as possible of course. The teen is having a great time; finding himself feeling cozy underneath the fuzzy blanket.
It’s dark outside, the sun has set a few hours ago, but if he looks close enough he can tell it’s still snowing. Does it ever not snow in this goddamn mountain town?
Right when his favorite scene comes on the TV, a knock can suddenly be heard. Is that the front door? Who the hell would be visiting right now? Letting out an annoyed sigh, Eric gets up from his seat on the couch and walks over to the door.
He rolls his eyes before reaching for the door handle and unlocking it.
“Who the fuck i- Kenny ?” He stops mid sentence when he realizes who stands at the other side of the door. Some of the previous annoyance rinses off, and his expression turns into a slightly confused one instead.
Right in front of him. Kenny McCormick is standing. Wearing his usual orange parka covering half of his face; hands shoved in the pockets and his body's lightly shivering from the cold. Poor guy is only wearing a pair of jeans in his weather.
“What the hell are you doing here? W-why are you here? You could’ve at least told me-” His confused rambling trails off when Kenny’s eyes meet Eric’s.There’s a look in those blue eyes which makes every previous thought in Eric’s mind stop.
A silence falls over the two, and Kenny shuffles slightly. Shifting his weight from one foot to another. Something is wrong and even Eric can tell. Everyone knows he’s not the most sympathetic guy out there, but hell, the sight in front of him makes him feel something .
Kenny finally brings himself to speak, brushing a dirty strand of hair out of his eyes. “W-will you let me inside or not, Cartman? It’s getting fucking cold out here.” It’s clear he’s trying to sound annoyed at the other. but he sounds more sad and tired than anything else.
Eric’s grip on the door handle becomes less firm and he takes a step back. “Right, uh- yeah.” He’s quick to open the door fully and let the boy step inside. Once Kenny’s standing right by him, he closes the door. Kenny’s shoes leaves traces of snow on the floor.
He’s unsure of whether to lock the door or not. In fact, he’s unsure of a lot of things at that moment, why is Kenny here? Why did Kenny come to his house out of all places?
“Yeah- so, sit down or whatever.” Eric says with a shrug when he finally gets snapped out of his thoughts. He starts walking back towards the couch. His bowls and bags of snacks and soda still scattered around the coffee table. But Kenny doesn’t move a single inch.
He stops too, turning back to look at him. Trying to gauge Kenny’s expression from what he can see. He can’t see much besides those sad looking blue eyes of his. He thinks for another moment before walking back up to his friend.
As much as Eric would want to pretend like he doesn’t care and brush off his own worries and whatever problems Kenny might have. He can’t. He can’t stand here pretending like all of this doesn’t make him just slightly worried.
“There’s a reason you came here, right? Is something wrong?” He finally makes himself ask his questions out loud, sounding a lot less annoyed and confused compared to before.
There’s almost a hint of cautiousness in his voice, and he speaks in a quiet tone you rarely ever hear Eric Cartman use.
Their eyes meet again, and the brunette’s expression softens even further. “Can I stay the night here? I, uh- I didn’t really have anywhere else to go. Butters’ and his family are out of town and all.” For a moment, it seems like Kenny would continue talking, but he stops himself.
Eric looks around the living room for a moment, as if to think over the question at hand. His plans for the night had been thrown out the window by now, or at least they’d change. His night alone will not be possible anymore, but maybe the safety for Kenny is more important right now.
“I was having a movie marathon,” he lazily gestures towards the snacks on the table and the movie still playing on the tv. “You can join me, get all the snacks you want. Then, crash on the couch or get a mattress on the floor if you want.” Eric smiles a little, a genuine smile at that, and briefly he sees the spark in Kenny’s eyes returning.
“Thanks.” Kenny’s eyes drift over to the living room area as well, seeing bottles of soda and countless bags of candy and snacks. Cheesy poofs, chips, chocolate, you name it.
“Are you sure I’m not… ruining your night or anything?” By the way the words leave his mouth, slightly muffled, it’s clear he has some teasing intention. However, his tone remains blank and tired.
“No, no, Kenny, it’s fine.” Eric assures him, taking another small step closer to him. “Are you still cold? I can get you a blanket.” He’s quick to say. There’s so many unfamiliar feelings running through his body right now and it just makes him want to do anything he can for his close friend. That’s strange, he usually never feels this way around other people.
“A blanket would be nice.” Kenny says, attempting at sounding more cheerful than he feels to no avail. As Eric goes off to find another blanket and maybe some extra pillows, Kenny makes his way over to the couch, Sitting down in one corner and letting himself rest against the cushions.
Within a minute or two, Eric comes back and gently tosses a blanket over to Kenny. The blonde takes it, putting it over himself. And when Eric offers a bottle of Pepsi, he takes that too and for now, he seems content. Eric rewinds a few minutes of the movie to see what he might’ve missed out on. (Even if he’s already seen this movie before and knows exactly what happens.)
Kenny watches the movie too and it seems to catch his interest, making him momentarily forget about his problems and the mess that resulted in him ending up here in the first place.
At some point, the movie comes to an end and the credits roll. Kenny had finished his soda long ago and took his opportunity to eat some snacks. Knowing he can’t eat this much sweets back at home.
The silence is mostly a comfortable one as the two teenage boys sit at each end of the couch.
Before Kenny can process what is really going on, there’s movement. And when he looks up again, Eric is suddenly sitting closer to him. This time, the other looks more curious rather than concerned. “Great movie, right? I love the ending scene and the car chase is fucking iconic.” he smiles.
“Mhm, very cool.” Kenny responds, mirroring a small smile even though Eric can’t see. His face is still mostly covered by the hood of his jacket, like usual. Finally, he reaches a hand out to remove said hood. Exposing a bandaid on his cheek and the freckles on his nose.
“Do you want to watch another movie?” Eric asks, wanting to show Kenny all his favorite action movies with awesome car chases and cheesy romance B-stories. His train of thought suddenly shifts when Kenny turns his head to him.
There’s not only a bandaid and a few minor scars on Kenny’s face; also a bruise. A big blue and purple mark just underneath his left eye. There’s hints of yellow in there too, and hell, it looks like it hurts.
“Shit.” is all Eric can bring himself to say. There was no surprise Kenny’s homelife was shitty, but he never thought it would go this far.
Kenny doesn’t say a word, by his quiet and reserved behavior it’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about it. All Eric wants is to press the issue; ask what happened and find out all the details. He doesn't. For once, he keeps his mouth shut. “I- I’ll get you an ice pack and then we can watch another movie, okay?” Eric gets up from his seat and stands up, taking another good look at the other. He’s so sure he’s never seen Kenny so down, so quiet. It makes him feel a little sad too.
“Okay.” Kenny doesn’t say anything else in response and watches as Eric disappears out of the living room and into the kitchen. Kenny hates himself for making Eric worry like this. But maybe having him be concerned is better than completely ignoring the issue, right?
An ice pack has been found and Eric gently puts it against the bruise on Kenny’s face. “Just don’t tell anyone about this, okay?” Eric hums and he can see a very small smile on the troubled boy’s face. “Don’t need anyone knowing I am all affectionate with you. Especially not Kyle and Stan.”
A low huff - almost a laugh - can be heard coming from Kenny. “Right. I won’t tell anyone. It stays between us.” He smiles sadly, but his eyes show that he’s appreciative of Eric for doing his. He’s happy Eric Cartman could be the one to help him out when he needed it. That’s just what a really good friend does.
Eric moves his hand away and lets Kenny hold the ice pack by himself, their hands briefly touching in the process. “We’ll talk about everything when you’re ready, yeah? And if you don’t keep your promise, I’ll kick your ass.”