For living in a town that snowed all the time, it sure was fucking hot today. Craig Tucker hardly looked up from his phone as he walked along the sidewalk of his town. Ten minutes late for class, and he still was half an hour away from the school. Craig stuffed his phone in his back pocket, pulling his hat off and running his fingers through his hair.

"Jesus Christ," his voice forced its way through an annoyed sigh. "I need a car."

Maybe it felt so hot outside because he insisted on wearing a coat, a hat, and trying his best to speed walk to the school. He held his textbooks tucked under his right arm, and his free hand messily threw his hat back on, earflap halfway covering his eye.
It was his second year of college. He managed to make it through the first year by doing what he did best, sitting quietly in class and retaining the little information that went in one ear without going out the other. It definitely helped that he didn't exactly like his classmates enough to socialize.

"Well, I'm already marked absent," his eyes glanced over to a nearby coffee shop. He didn't exactly drink coffee, but he knew Harbucks sold other drinks and thought maybe this place did too.

Maybe if he were younger, still finding joy in school from spending time with his friends, he wouldn't care so much about being late. But now he was older, didn't want to make friends with any of these people, and didn't really care if he skipped class. College professors didn't seem to mind as much, anyway.

He thought about this as he crossed the street, paying minimal attention to the cars driving nearby. He pulled open the door to the coffeehouse and his eyes panned across the room. It didn't really seem to be the hot spot in town. There were three people besides him, all of which were behind the counter. Two adults and a blonde boy about his age. Craig slid his books onto a nearby table and approached the counter. The blonde kid stood near the register, his back turned. Craig glanced up at the menu behind him, before clearing his throat.

"Excuse m-"

The blonde turned around in a sharp, sudden movement. His hands frantically grabbing at the counter as a look of fear unlike Craig had ever seen came across his face.

"JESUS-"

The boy met Craig's unphased eyes, his own sharing a genuine look of apology. Craig allowed himself to smile, not frightened by the outburst as the boy began stumbling over words. Craig watched as the boy took a moment, attempting to compose himself. Straightening his back, the boy instinctively latched his hand onto the collar of his shirt, tugging slightly as he attempted to calm his breathing.

"I'm-I'm sorry! I didn't realize you came in!" His hands desperately reached for his notepad. "What can I get you?"

"Do you have anything besides coffee?"

"We have…water?"

"Well…I'll take whatever your most mild coffee is."

Craig watched the boy nod, scribbling on the notepad. He couldn't help but notice how peaceful the boy seemed when he wasn't…well…screaming.

"Okay, that'll be $4.34."

The blonde standing in front of him hardly seemed to be the same kid who screamed less than a minute ago. He seemed almost more mature, or at the least, focused on the task at hand.

Craig shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling for any change and his wallet. From his wallet he pulled three $1 bills and a few pennies. Releasing a sigh, Craig pulled out the three dollars.

"On second thought, I'll just have a water."

With a nod, the blonde grabbed a cup and filled it with water, handing it to Craig.

"Thanks dude," Craig took the water and stuffed the three dollars into the tip jar before making his way back to his table. He slid the cup next to his textbooks and took a seat, pulling off his coat and draping it over the chair. At the very least, the water would help him cool down.

He plugged his earbuds into his phone and played some music as he flipped open his textbook. Craig rested his elbow against the table, pressing his cheek against the palm of his hand as his eyes lazily grazed over the text.

From the corner of Craig's eyesight, he was able to see movement near his arm. He glanced up to make eye contact with the same blond barista, setting a coffee cup down on the table next to the textbook. When Craig met his eyes, he seemed to jump as if he were embarrassed he got caught. Craig removed his earbuds.

"Is this…for me?"

"Yeah, I thought it would be nice but now I'm realizing it was a bit weird of me… Jesus, sorry dude."

Craig's eyes flicked from the coffee cup to the poor, shivering barista standing before him. A brief glance at the rest of the shop showed it was still empty. What did this kid do all day?

"Do you wanna sit? What's your name?"

"Oh," the boy nervously glanced back to the other two behind the counter, "I've been standing all day…That sounds nice," he slid into the chair across Craig, allowing his words relax a little before smiling. "My name's Tweek."

Craig placed his fingertips on the top of the coffee cup, turning it slowly to look at the name stamped on the cup. Tweek Bros. Coffee.

"Is this place named after you?"

"I think it's named after my grandpa? I…actually don't really know."

With a nod, Craig lifted the coffee cup, taking a small sip of the coffee. And it was…bitter. He glanced up to Tweek, who beamed with excitement. Craig sat the cup down, forcing a small smile.

"You did great, dude."

Tweek's smile grew with such an infectious enthusiasm, Craig quickly found himself smiling more too.

"I've been helping my parents run the shop for my whole life. I'm not great at making coffee, but I put a lot of work into it! I'm glad you like it!"
With his words, Craig took another drink of the coffee, this sip seeming far less bitter than the first. He really appreciated the coffee, and he couldn't help but be excited by how much joy it was bringing to Tweek.

"I also bake too! We have some pastries at the counter! I'll go get some!"

Tweek jumped up, and before Craig could recognize what was going on, Tweek was behind the counter with a plate, grabbing some cookies. When he came back to the table, he pushed the plate towards Craig, sliding back into his seat.

"Dad tells me I should stick to baking. He says my coffee isn't that great."

Craig couldn't help but notice the drop in enthusiasm in Tweek's voice. He took another drink of the coffee, each sip tasting better. Was the coffee that good? Or did he really just like that this guy made it for him?

"I think your coffee's great, your dad just clearly doesn't know good coffee."

"He," Tweek paused, almost a look of concern on his face, "he makes coffee for a living."

Craig met his eyes with a smile, letting a small laugh escape.

"I was just kidding. Your coffee is great, don't listen to him. Even if he is your boss. You're doing great."

He watched as Tweek gave a seemingly unintentional smile before meeting Craig's eyes. His eyes said what his lips didn't. Thank you. They kept the gaze for longer than Craig had realized. Snapping out of it, he shifted his attention to the plate of cookies.

"Oh, I still haven't tried the cookies," he reached for a cookie. Taking a bite out of it, he had to admit, Tweek's dad was right. Not about Tweek giving up on making coffee, but that he was really good at baking. He didn't even have to look at the boy to be able to sense his excitement. "These are awesome dude."
Another smile from Tweek let Craig know that his words meant everything. But he watched as the smile of gratitude turned to a stifled laugh. Had he said something wrong?

"Your...hat is on wrong."

"Huh?" Craig's focus adjusted, seeing the earflap of his still lopsided hat positioned in front of his eye. He adjusted it, allowing himself to laugh.

"So are you going to tell me your name?" Tweek watched Craig fumble, taking a cookie for himself. "I told you mine."

"Shit, yeah," Craig shook his head, "sorry. It's Craig. Craig Tucker." He lifted the coffee cup to his lips for another drink. It already felt half empty, feeling like hardly anything more than a paper cup in his hands.

"Craig," the word sounded natural in the boy's almost-scratchy sounding voice. "That's a nice name! Better than Tweek," he rested his chin against the palm of his hand, allowing himself to laugh, as though it were at the absurdity of his own name.

"That's not true, I like Tweek."

Why did those words sound so weird coming out in his voice?

A chuckle stumbled it's way out, almost laughing at his own words. Was he laughing at what he said, or the fact that he SAID it?

"I, um," Craig stammered as he slid his hand under one cover of his textbook. Slowly shutting the book, he glanced at the time on his phone. "I should probably head out. I need to catch my other classes."

The words spilling out of his lips almost sounded like an excuse. He had fully intended to skip his other classes, knowing he missed his first class. He couldn't tell if he felt embarrassed, or just needed some time to himself. Whatever his words seemed like to him, it didn't seem to be bugging the blonde boy in front of him, who responded with a chipper attitude.

"Okay!" He shot up from his seat, making his way behind the counter. Craig watched him as he bundled up all of his things, seeing Tweek come back with a ziplock bag. Tweek picked up the rest of the cookies on the plate, placing them gently into the bag. He held out the bag with a smile. "Will I see you again?" His smile faded into a confused expression as he finished speaking. Almost as if he were just as confused by what that meant as Craig was.

"I'll come by tomorrow," Craig carefully took the bag Tweek held out to him. "And I'll make sure to actually have money, this time."

Tweek grabbed at the strap of his apron, fiddling with it as his eyes glanced back into the direction of his parents.

"That might be a good idea. I don't know if I can get away with giving you a free coffee again."

"Thank you, again. For the coffee and," Craig lifted the bag of cookies, "these. You really didn't have to."

Craig adjusted his arms, attempting to juggle what he held. He tucked the textbooks under his arm, holding the bag of cookies in the same hand. He shoved his phone in his pocket with his free hand then picked up his coffee. His eyes flicked to the blond who watched him with a concerned expression printed on his face.

"Do..do you need help?"

"I think I'll be okay," Craig glanced down to the items in his arms. Maybe he did need help.

That's not exactly something you can just ask though, right?

Tweek reached forward, grabbing the cup of coffee and the bag of cookies. He looked almost embarrassed, but for the first time today, he didn't apologize.
"Are you going to the school up the road?"

He nodded, wordlessy, averting is gaze a bit. "Yeah, yeah I actually was supposed to be there earlier. I'm actually, uh," he paused, clearing his throat as though he were putting off finishing the sentence. "I'm actually late. I skipped my first class."

"You skipped class?!" It was like he had no concept of not doing everything that was required of him. Who's never skipped school before? "We gotta get you to class fast then! I can hold these so you don't have to worry about that. Or, you can hold the coffee. I guess you might want to drink it."

Craig smiled. Did this guy really want to help him get to class? Did he even want him to? He couldn't help but think he did.

"You can hold it, I'll ask for it when I want it," Craig walked towards the door and pulled it open. "Are you sure you want to come along?"

Tweek nodded, grinning widely as he stepped out the door. He turned, beaming to Craig.

"This'll be fun! I've spent so much time at the coffee shop I haven't really gotten to do anything!" He stepped to the side, moving towards the sidewalk. Craig stepped towards him and the two began walking along the sidewalk in the direction of his school. "How long have you been going to school?"

"Well, this is my second year," Craig slid his hand under his hat, combing his fingers through his hair. "My class I'm heading to isssss," he grabbed his phone, dragging out the word until his eyes finally met the time, "Literature," the word forced its way out in a groan. It definitely wasn't his worst subject, but it was up there.

"You know," the words seemed to blurt from Tweek before he could even comprehend that he was speaking, "if you ever need help with school, you can come to the coffeehouse and I'll help! I'm not the best, but I'm pretty good, I think."

These words allowed a pumping to enter Craig's chest. Tweek wanted to help him? He definitely needed it. And honestly, spending more time with Tweek really sounded nice. He didn't quite understand why. Craig avoided spending time with a lot of people his age, some people he even considered friends. He told himself it was to focus on school, but he knew it was just so he could hang out at home, playing video games with his guinea pig. But he found himself feeling excited at the thought of spending time with someone. Was he getting lonely?

"I'd like that," he flicked open the textbooks, glancing up occasionally to make sure he didn't walk into anything. "We're only a few chapters in, but I still have a hard time. It's mostly understanding the concept and reason for most stories. I need to read the Crusade I just can't get into it."

"I can help! It can be like a study session! I'll make coffee and cookies," the pitch of excitement in his voice grew with every word. Did he really have nothing better to do than help Craig do his homework?

"You don't have to just help me study, you know. I have video games. And a guinea pig."

"You have a guinea pig?!"

"Yeah," Craig chuckled, glancing to the ground, staring at his feet taking each step as he spoke. "His name's Stripe. I've had him for a few years. The one before him ran away. That one was...Also named Stripe. I'm not very original-"

Before Craig could complete his thought, he felt a hard tug on his arm. He turned his head, stopping to stare at Tweek in confusion, who projected a look of fear and embarrassment in response.

"You, you were," Tweek pointed to Craig's side. Turning, Craig noticed a phone pole nearly touching his shoulder. "I couldn't get the words out fast enough, so I just, y'know," Tweek's eyes glanced down to his hand, still latched on to Craig's arm. He quickly released it, jumping back. "I'm sorry dude!"

"Oh," Craig's eyes darted from the pole back to Tweek, "thank you. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Just thinking about how I'd rather be home than going to school," he reached a hand up to rub his eyes. He couldn't tell if he was tired, or was just looking for excuses to skip school. "Actually dude, I think I'm going to go home."

"Are you sure?! You won't get in trouble at school?"

"College doesn't really care," he smiled, pausing as he thought. "Do you want to come over? It's been nice hanging out with you. You can come meet Stripe."
The boy looked surprised. Was that the wrong thing to say? God. This is why Craig didn't talk to the kids in his class. Sometimes you just never know what the right thing to say is.

"That sounds really nice," Tweek smiled. "Are you sure it'll be okay if you skip school?"

Craig shrugged dismissively. His parents were at work and his sister was at her own school, not to mention the fact that college didn't really mind, so long as you paid your tuition. There was no one to scold him for not showing up for classes.

"I'll be fine. I don't usually skip school. I might not get the best grades, but I know the teachers appreciate the minimal effort I put in."

"Then yes," Tweek beamed with excitement. "I'd love to hang out!"