Tuesday, October 18th

8:48 AM

It was another brilliant autumn morning in the quiet little mountain town of South Park, Colorado. The sun was surely beaming behind the thick, gray clouds covering the cold sky. The cool breeze was most certainly relieving when it didn't try to blow you off your feet. And of course the grass was a beautiful shade of green, if you could make it out under two and a half feet of snow and piles upon piles of dead leaves.

A sixteen-year-old student of South Park High by the name of Tweek Tweak was spending this fine morning taking a test that he failed to study for. He nervously drummed his pencil against the paper and gripped the desk so hard his hands hurt. The fair-haired girl to his left cleared her throat and he nearly fell out of his desk. The smallest noises in the classroom made him jump.

For you see, Tweek was a little on edge, even for him. This had plenty to do with the fact that he only had 4 1/3 cups of coffee that morning, the last of which had to be dumped out because he was absolutely certain his mother was trying to poison him yet again. But the main reason he was acting so oddly, as he and that blonde to his left guessed, was because his boyfriend of six years Craig Tucker had chosen to dump him the previous afternoon.

Monday, October 17th

3:52 pm

School had just ended for the day, and the longstanding couple Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak were caught in the unstoppable stampede of teenagers eager to escape from their weekday prison in the most enthusiastic and reckless way possible. Craig led Tweek outside the main school building in a spot behind some bushes they both often visited to talk in private. Tweek noticed that, strangely, Craig did not meet his gaze, instead choosing to stare deeply at the frost-covered pavement.

"Tweek, we need to talk about something important." This caught Tweek's attention.

".. I think it's time we put an end to this," Craig began, his tone wooden and flat.

"H-huh, what? What do you mean?" Tweek was shocked. They had pretended to be a couple for so many years; it felt suddenly weird to think about going back to how it was before.

Craig continued his speech awkwardly. "I just.. think it's gone on long enough, you know? We've, uh, been pretending to be together for six years. Don't you think that's a little extreme? Besides, eventually we are going to have to move on and get in real relationships. I just think it would be better if we… got out of each other's way, you know?"

Tweek paused as he digested the information. "Oh. Uh...alright then. If it's okay with you, I'm fine. What about the town, though? Aren't they going to freak out or something?!" Tweek's heart raced at the mere thought of the way everyone would react to the loss of the town's most beloved gay couple.

"Relax, Tweek. If we just keep quiet about it for a while, I'm sure that everything will be fine."

"Okay then. Uh..well…I suppose I'll s-see you around?" Tweek asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah, su-oh, wait. If we're supposed to be breaking up, then we shouldn't hang out, obviously. 'Cause people would get suspicious, and stuff." Craig spoke quickly, fidgeting with the buttons on his jacket.

"Oh. Then I guess.." Tweek hesitated, "..this is goodbye?" His voice cracked a bit, to his embarrassment.

Craig nodded. "Not forever. Just… for a little while." He took a few steps back from his friend/ex-boyfriend and continued to avoid eye contact

"Goodbye-" Tweek started, but Craig turned and briskly walked away without another word. "..Craig." Tweek's smile had faded.

As he saw Craig hurry away, Tweek was hit by what had just happened-Craig had, albeit in a stilted, blunt manner, unceremoniously ended their relationship. Just like that. Not that Tweek was going to miss it or anything- not having to keep up the charade would certainly be a load off- but he felt a small part of him was now gone. And he just had so many questions. Why break up now? Nothing bad had happened...in fact, they were closer friends than ever before! Did Craig have his eye on someone, was Tweek "in the way?" How long until he could hang out with Craig again?

Because, in all honesty, Tweek really liked spending time with Craig. Whether it was being in public pretending to be a young couple, or at Craig's house, just talking and playing video games, Craig could make him feel relaxed and happy for once. His dry humor and 'chilled out' attitude always managed to put Tweek in a much better mood. Craig made him feel really appreciated, like he was someone worth spending time with. And sometimes, with the encouragement of their families, they would go on walks together at night. And if the lighting was just right, Tweek could see the moonlight in Craig's eyes and the slightest blush on his cheeks when he squeezed his hand-

"Tweek! Are you paying any attention?!"

Tweek let out a squeak as he was jerked back into reality. He looked around wildly for a moment before settling down in time for the ear-deafening bell to signal the end of class. The blonde girl giggled when Tweek fell right out of his chair with a thump and a "GAH!"

Tweek survived the trek through the crowded hallway and emerged into the mess hall. After a quick glance around the cramped cafeteria, his eyes found Craig sitting next to Token and Clyde. He waved apprehensively in their direction, but Craig fixed him with such a "don't come anywhere near this table so help me" look that Tweek was forced to just squeeze onto a bench with plenty of weird kids he didn't know. He was, admittedly, slightly hurt by Craig's sudden hostility even though he knew it was insincere. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of cheerleaders pointing and smiling knowingly at Craig.

Oh god, are we that bad at being subtle?!

After hearing her son arrive home from school, Mrs. Tweak immediately greets him by offering him a cup of coffee, which he eagerly accepts. His unusually flustered demeanor prods her to make a little small talk.

"How was school today, honey?"

"Fine! I was fine." Tweek answers, too fast.

His mother eyes him skeptically. "And how is Craig?"

"Oh, him? Well, um...yes...we're fine! Yeah. All good." Tweek's hand twitched involuntarily.

"Well..alright then. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything, sweetie." And with her interrogation complete, she left the room.

Tweek was collapsed on the couch, having finished his third cup of coffee, when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He opens it to see a text from the now ex-boyfriend, Craig.

"hey tweek. hav u told ur parents yet -craig"

"no. have u?"

"not yet. i thought about doing it tmorrow + telling them to be quiet. see how that goes –craig"

"k. ill do it 2 then. but what if they tell everyone?!1 maybe we should just stay together?idkidk"

Long pause. Tweek bit his lip anxiously.

Oh god why the hell did I say that

"dont worry bout it. –craig"

That was the last thing Craig sent all night. But Tweek wasn't quite done yet. Tweek wanted to get answers to the questions that had been racing through his head since that afternoon. He wanted to know if Craig didn't wait to hang out and play video games anymore. Tweek tried to ask if they could hang out at his house when his parents weren't home, or after school in the woods, and how long did Craig want to wait to talk to him? He asked if they could say they were just friends now. He asked if Craig still wanted to be his friend. Did Craig hate him now? Did Tweek do some terribly wrong thing? What made him want to dump him?

Can't we just stay together andlivehappiplyeverafterandeverythingwouldbefinewhywhywhywhy

won'thejustanswerohgod-! Wait, what?!

But nothing could get him to text back. Tweek ended up drinking ten worrisome cups of coffee and taking eleven worrisome bathroom breaks.

Several long, anxiety-riddled hours passed. After giving up texting Craig, Tweek attempted to get some English homework done, but just staring at those questions filled him with dread. And why the hell did he need to know what "gauche" meant, anyway?

After having exhausted efforts to communicate with Craig and failing to be productive, Tweek decided to finally surrender to bed. He shouted a good night to his family before stumbling to his room with a groan. He stole a glance at the alarm clock. 12:59 AM. Right on schedule.

When he awoke with a start the next morning at precisely 7:31, he could have sworn his pleasant dreams surrounded a certain dark-haired boy who always intruded upon his thoughts. And he would never admit it to anyone but himself, but it wasn't the sunshine through his curtains that kept him smiling a little more that morning.

At least until he got to school to see Craig and a cute blonde girl holding hands.