Bound By A Book (KYMAN FIC)

Out of the closet and into the art room

The next day at South Park Elementary started like any other, with the familiar sounds of slamming lockers, laughter, and the occasional insult echoing through the halls. Cartman arrived with his usual swagger, smirk firmly in place as he looked for his favorite target. He spotted Kyle at his locker, focused on a book in his hands, completely unaware of Cartman approaching.

"Hey, Jew boy! What, you studying to be even more of a nerd than you already are?" Cartman snickered, leaning against the lockers with his arms crossed.

Kyle looked up, rolling his eyes. "Nice to see you're still keeping up the same old insults, Cartman. Must be exhausting being that predictable."

Cartman's smirk faltered for a moment. "Predictable? Ha! You wish. I'm an enigma, Kyle. You're just too dense to get it."

Kyle scoffed, giving him a dry look. "Right. Real mysterious of you to insult everyone you see. You really need a new hobby." He glared at Cartman, as he gathered his books and started walking down the hall.

They exchanged a few more jabs as they walked to first period math, the insults sharp but strangely familiar, like a rhythm only the two of them knew.

Cartman would never admit it, but something about these exchanges felt almost... comfortable. He always knew how Kyle would react, and part of him liked that. Predictable or not, it was a connection, and he clung to it in his own way, even if he'd rather die than let anyone else know.

As the day wore on, Cartman found himself strangely preoccupied. In 5th period history class, he kept glancing over at Kyle, catching small details he usually ignored—the way Kyle's nose scrunched slightly when he was concentrating, or how his eyes narrowed whenever their teacher, Mr. Garrison went off on a particularly bizarre tangent. He'd never really looked at Kyle this closely before, and the realization unsettled him, and made him subconsciously blush.

When the final bell rang, Cartman didn't hesitate. As soon as the hallways cleared, he slipped off to the art room, keeping a low profile. He'd been coming here for a few weeks now, ever since he'd stumbled upon the empty room one day after school. It was quiet, a place where he could be alone, without anyone else's expectations. Here, he didn't have to be "Cartman, the jerk," or "Cartman, the tough guy." Here, he could just... be himself. In the art room.

As he got into the room, He made his way to the far corner of the room, claiming his usual seat by the window where the late afternoon sunlight cast a warm glow across the table. He opened his sketchbook, feeling the familiar thrill of excitement as he flipped to a blank page. Cartman cracked his knuckles, took a deep breath, and let his mind wander as he began to draw, his pencil moving almost automatically.

At first, he sketched without much thought, the strokes flowing freely across the page. He drew shapes, lines, small details, feeling a calm he rarely experienced. But then his mind drifted back to the image of Kyle standing at his locker, looking exasperated yet somehow... determined. Without realizing it, Cartman's hand shifted, and he found himself sketching the curve of a cheek, the outline of familiar curls, and the intensity in a pair of focused eyes.

His brow furrowed in concentration as he added subtle details to the face, the lines becoming more refined. There was something different about this drawing; he could feel it. It was as if he were peeling back layers he hadn't known were there, capturing something about Kyle that went beyond the usual insults and arguments. Cartman paused, staring down at the unfinished sketch. Why was he drawing Kyle? And why did it feel... natural?

With a sigh, he leaned closer, letting his gaze trace over each part of the face he was sketching. He added the familiar strands of curly hair that framed Kyle's face, making sure each one looked just slightly unruly. Cartman frowned as he shaded in the eyes, trying to capture the way Kyle's gaze always seemed both intense and thoughtful, like he was analyzing everything around him. He couldn't help but think about how those green eyes would narrow whenever they were arguing, flashing with defiance, or how they softened—just barely—when he was focused on something else, something Cartman wasn't a part of.

He shook his head, feeling a strange pang in his chest.

What was he doing? Why did he care how Kyle looked, or how he acted when Cartman wasn't around? But his hand continued moving, almost like it had a mind of its own. He shaded in Kyle's nose, making sure to capture that slight, subtle curve, and then his lips, adding a faint hint of a smirk. It was a look Kyle wore often when he thought he'd gotten the upper hand in one of their arguments—a look Cartman had seen a thousand times but had never thought about this closely before, yet it made him blush, even though a drawing.

And as he worked on Kyle's expression, he realized he'd started adding something more. A softness in the eyes, a slight blush on the cheeks, a hint of warmth in the way his mouth curved.

Cartman felt his own face heat up as he realized he'd made Kyle look... vulnerable, almost like he was sharing a secret. It was ridiculous. Kyle never looked at him like that. Yet here he was, sketching Kyle with an expression he'd never seen, an expression that maybe—deep down—he wanted to see.

The realization made Cartman's heart pound, his grip on the pencil tightening. Why was he doing this? Why was he drawing Kyle like this? He was supposed to hate the guy, or at least find him annoying. But as he stared down at the sketch, Cartman couldn't shake the strange, uncomfortable feeling bubbling up inside him. There was something about Kyle's face, about the way he'd drawn him, that felt... right.

"Stupid brain," he muttered under his breath, trying to ignore the way his hands were shaking slightly. He attempted to tell himself it was just a sketch, just a random drawing that didn't mean anything. But the details betrayed him. He'd poured too much into this, capturing every part of Kyle's face with a level of care he didn't usually put into anything.

Cartman sat back, rubbing a hand over his face as he stared down at the finished drawing. Kyle looked back at him from the page, soft and slightly flushed, as if he were caught in a moment of quiet vulnerability. Cartman's chest felt tight as he realized just how much he'd revealed, not about Kyle, but about himself.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he whispered, his voice wavering. He quickly closed the sketchbook, hiding the drawing as if that would somehow erase the strange, conflicted feelings swirling inside him. But even as he sat there, staring at the closed cover, he couldn't shake the image from his mind.

He imagined showing the drawing to Kyle, imagined the look on his face if he ever saw it. The thought made him feel sick and nervous, but also... curious.

How would Kyle react, seeing himself like this, the way Cartman saw him in this private, unguarded moment? But that was a thought he couldn't afford to entertain. He'd rather burn the sketchbook than let anyone see this, especially Kyle.

Cartman took a deep, shuddering breath, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. His mind replayed the details of the drawing—the way Kyle's eyes softened, the faint blush on his cheeks, the slight curve of his lips.

He knew he'd drawn something more than just a face; he'd drawn the parts of Kyle he could never admit to noticing. And as much as he tried to ignore it, Cartman couldn't deny that some part of him wanted to keep that image, to hold onto this quiet moment where he could be honest, even if it was just with himself.

He sighed, feeling a weight settle over him. Tomorrow, he'd go back to being the same old Cartman, trading insults with Kyle and pretending that none of this had happened.

But tonight, he would let himself hold onto this drawing, this strange, fragile feeling he didn't quite understand. And maybe, just maybe, he'd let himself wonder what it meant, even if he couldn't say it out loud, and could only wait to what he might say to Kyle tomorrow.