A/N: Hello dear readers! I really wanted to write a friendship fic for Craig's Gang, so I did. It will follow Craig's life in particular as he gets older. He may be the same age in multiple chapters depending on milestones.
Summary: Craig was no ordinary kid, that much had been clear since 4th Grade. What other ten year old was that cynical and stoic? Ironically, the only thing Craig had ever wanted was to be a normal kid; simple, plain and boring. The not-so-normal normal kid even attracted his own band of followers known as Craig's Gang. Clyde Donovan, Token Black and Tweek Tweak were the most frequent members, but Jimmy Valmer and Kevin Stoley occasionally hung around with him too. Why? Well that was a question Craig asked himself all the time. He did his best to avoid making friends with his off -standish attitude. Though the more thought he put into it, the more he realized how terrible he had been at doing just that. And it had all started with Clyde Donovan when they were around four years old...
Disclaimer: I do not own South Park.
Chapter 1: New Town, Age 4
I was buckled into the back of our car, stretching a little so I could peak out the window. Snow covered trees whirled past us, too fast to focus on. Everything was different. Well it looked different. Snow used to be a Christmas thing, but it was everywhere here. Mommy said it was because we're in the mountains. We were moving to a new house in a town called South Park. I hated the idea, it was stupid. I liked our old house. The little white one we had was fine, so why did we have to get a new one? I glared at my parents in the front of the car. No matter how many times I asked they would not give me a good answer. Just something stupid about Mommy having another baby, and that they wanted to live in a bigger house somewhere quiet. They got mad at me when I told them to give the new baby in Mommy's tummy back to heaven so we didn't have to go anywhere. They said that I should be excited for a new baby brother or sister. Well I am not. I don't want to share my toys with anyone. My small hands gripped my race car toy tightly. A brother would be so much better than a sister though, I really don't want to have a gross little sister taking my stuff.
After what felt like years, Dad finally stopped driving. I let out a yawn and stretched my arms and legs. My Mom smiled at me as she opened the door and unbuckled my seat belt. "Cheer up Sweetie, we're here now. You will love it." I wasn't so sure about that, but there was nothing I could do now. With a huff I climbed out of the car and slammed the door loudly. My parents were so happy that they didn't notice, or care. In front of me stood a big, brown house. The color of poo, that sure looks like a good sign. Dad dug in his pocket for the key, I hope he lost it. Mom rolled her eyes at him, giving him the finger when she thought I couldn't see her. I guess Mom had the key all along, because she handed it to him. Dad didn't seem to care, and called me over with a grin. I've never seen them smile so much. I scrunched up my nose at the thought, it was weird. Our front yard was nothing special, just a place for our car and some grass, hidden under white. I shivered, cold air prickled my skin. It was so cold that you could see your breath, it looked like the stuff that came out of Dad's mouth when he smoked. The snow crunched under my shoes when I walked, I stomped on the spot to get used to the feeling. Am I supposed to like this? I used to hate when Mom made me wear one, but a hat would be nice right now. It was way too cold to stay outside, so I shuffled toward Dad, ignoring the big sign stuck into the ground.
Without any real reason I turned my head to the side, only to see a curious pair of brown eyes looking at me. It was a kid who looked around my age. He had neat brown hair and was chubby. He wore a big red coat that looked really warm. His face lit up and he waved excitedly.
"Hey! Are you going to live in that house?" I looked around the driveway, especially at the packed car and open door. What else would we be doing?
"No. We're bad robbers and we are stealing this house." The boy looked horrified. Did he really think what I said was true? Jesus. Mom came back with her hands on her hips, looking less happy and more impatient. "Craig what-" She spotted the kid and her face broke out into yet another smile. Her eyes traveled back from me to the kid a few times as though she could not believe it.
"You've already made a new friend! I told you this would be fun, didn't I? I'll give you five minutes Craig, but then you have to come help us." She said with a smile as if she was helping me. When she left us alone the kid turned to me with a happy grin. Smiling better not be a normal thing around here.
"I knew it! I knew you were moving in." I hope the look on my face showed how stupid I thought he was. It didn't seem to. "My name is Clyde. I live in that house there," he explained pointing at the house beside mine. It was also brown, but a nicer brown. I only gave him a shrug in response. Why was I supposed to care? Clyde continued talking though."An old lady used to live in your house, but she died." Great. That is really good to know. A small part of me was kind of scared by it though. The last thing I need is a ghost under my bed. Clyde gave a laugh, "Well that's what my Mom said, but now that you live there we can play together." I usually say no when other kids ask me to do anything, but he seemed really happy about it. I didn't know how to say no to him. Instead, I gave him the middle finger, like my Mom and Dad always do to each other and walked inside. I heard him say bye as I closed the door. Clyde was weird.
The house wasn't so bad on the inside. It was empty, but my Mom and Dad hadn't brought anything in yet. The big moving van was supposed to be here soon too. My eyes trailed around the new house. When you walked in you we're kind of in the living room. I heard my Mom speaking from the kitchen and followed her voice. When I walked in Dad clapped me on the back with a rough grunt. He never really hugged me. I didn't mind because I never really liked hugs anyway. "Well Craig, what do you think?" Mom asked, hoping that I would say something positive. Dad was staring at me too, but with less emotion. "It's fine." It was exactly that. The only thing that made it better was when they showed me my room. It was a big room, which made me so happy. My old room was so small. I would finally have a place that I liked all to myself.
South Park was very strange, but it would be fine after all. I didn't think twice about Clyde after spending the day watching them haul our old furniture inside, but I should have realized it would not be our last meeting.