He supposed he saw it coming from the time he first laid eyes on the twitchy blonde. He could taste it on his lips like the first time he sampled the dark chocolate mocha at Harbucks. It was bittersweet. And he couldn't tell if he liked it or not.
When God came to him in all of Their angelic cat-like-hippo-like-whatever-like etherealness, and told him he had a new client, he was too naïve to realize the deep consequences it would come with.
He was a guardian angel by nature. Where other guardians failed, he had a perfect record—much to his co-workers astonishment. They weren't jealous, just surprised due to his usual bored and uncaring countenance. But Craig cared for all of his clients. Everyone should have a good guardian angel by their side…
…As long as it was on a strict work schedule, of course (including lunch breaks and vacation days.)
But this was different. Tweek broke his schedule. He did working lunches now. Sure, Craig would occasionally do a handful of those for his previous clients when it was necessary, but this was on a whole new level.
He couldn't tear himself away from the blonde.
And now he was in too deep.
"Tweek, don't forget your coffee, hun!"
"Thanks, Mom, " he murmured, grabbing the thermos and taking a large gulp. Grabbing his backpack, he headed out the front door and closed it with a soft click.
Tweek walked down to the bus stop, the chilly air gusting past him and reddening his cheeks and nose.
He hoped he didn't catch a cold. Oh God, what if he caught a cold? It could develop into pneumonia or worse!
The thoughts went on and on.
"Wow. This kid sure is a piece of work, " Craig wondered aloud. Humans couldn't hear him anyway, so why not?
"They sure do know how to pick 'em, huh?" He floated around the kid silently and with intrigue. He could sense the paranoia and inner struggle he was facing without hearing the exact thoughts themselves.
"It's only 7:30 in the morning, kid. Calm down," he whispered, lifting a hand and patting his head softly.
As if by magic, Tweek relaxed slightly and his jitters slowed themselves.
"Ah well. Can't be perfect every time," Craig shrugged. He was sure the kid just needed some guidance and angelic persuasion and he would get back to being on the right track.
He wasn't sure what to do about the caffeine addiction though. He'd have to talk to God about that one.
The bus arrived shortly after and Craig followed Tweek on, taking the empty seat next to him.
They stopped a few more times before rolling up to the school. Tweek twitched violently as he exited the bus, causing him to almost fall on top of Clyde.
"Woah, dude, you alright?" Token asked, concerned for the jittery boy.
"Yeah—ngh—I just… need more coffee, " He explained before he took another large gulp of the coffee.
"Alright, if you say so. Have a good day Tweek," Token patted Tweek's shoulder before joining Clyde, elbowing him jokingly.
"Yeah, it's gonna take a miracle for this kid to have a good day," Craig mused, "Or some angelic interference."
He cracked his knuckles and followed Tweek inside the building, prepared for the worst.
He was glad he was, as the inner demons and thoughts seemed to never stop. He had to cut his lunch break short or else he was afraid the paranoia coming from the small blonde would overwhelm him and he'd have a breakdown.
Why did he hang out with that mean child and his friends? Eric Cartman or something like that. Surely, that kid couldn't be good for Tweek's composure.
The other three were… alright. But he didn't like the trouble they got up to, even during school.
The catastrophe continued even after school and Craig was starting to feel tired after fighting off all these demons.
He finally got a break as Tweek arrived home and headed up to his room, grabbing a mug of coffee from his mom on the way.
"You don't like to make this easy on me, do you?" Craig mused, floating over Tweek. Tweek was currently doing some asinine homework assignment. Ugh High School…
This was Tweek's first year and from Craig's documents on the kid, it seemed he was barely keeping a C average. He didn't care too much about that; but if school stressed the kid out this much, he should probably try to help.
When Tweek finally fell into a fitful sleep did Craig take a break, sitting next to him on the bed.
"Have sweet dreams, kiddo."
