Craig peeked his eyes open, being awaken by an all too familiar sound: his ringtone for Clyde. He groaned and clasped his pillow over his head, waiting for the annoying song to stop. Clyde had set his own ringtone in Craig's phone, specifically his favorite part of his favorite song. However, Craig believed the song was just a collection of annoying sounds, which assured he would always answer as soon as Clyde called. But Craig had a feeling he knew what Clyde wanted, and didn't feel like getting out of bed just yet. He let it ring. But Clyde just kept calling. After having to listen to the ringtone eight more times, Craig caved and picked up the phone.
"Fuck you, Clyde." He greeted his best friend.
"Oh, good, you're awake." Clyde remarked sarcastically. He chuckled at his own joke, "Want to come with me to the mall?"
Craig groaned, tucking himself even deeper into his covers, "Not really."
"Aw, come on, Craig. You suck!" Clyde pleaded.
"Only for you, assfuck." Craig smirked. Clyde started begging. He repeated "please" over and over until Craig finally decided to give in "Fine," He groaned, "I'll come to the mall with you. But you have to shut the fuck up! And we are getting food first." Craig heard Clyde cheer on the other end, "Taco Bell." Craig added. He hung up before Clyde could respond and threw his phone back onto his bed. He grabbed a pair of black jeans from his laundry pile and threw them on. He then went to the bathroom and washed his face before throwing on a plain black T-shirt with a white skull and crossbones. He threw on his signature blue chullo, grabbed his phone, and got in his car to go to the mall.
He parked in the mall parking lot and looked around for Clyde's car. He saw Clyde's dark blue Nissan parked near the entrance. He sighed and walked into the mall. Craig looked around the mall and tried to figure out the fastest way to get up to the Taco Bell in the food court. He figured taking the elevator would be the fastest, as it let out right in front of the line for Taco Bell. He found the elevator and saw Tweek waiting as well. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked for any new messages from Clyde. There were none. When the elevator doors opened, Tweek and Craig walked in and stood on opposite sides.
Craig only knew Tweek from school. After their elementary school days, they grew apart. And Craig managed to block out a lot of what happened in elementary school. He remembered a little bit about Tweek, like he was always drinking coffee. And he was always spazzing out about everything. But not much else. Craig was on the side with the buttons and hit floor three, where the food court was. "Where are you going?" Craig asked in his usual monotone nasally voice.
Tweek shrieked, "M-me?" He asked, gesturing to himself.
Craig smirked, "Well, is there anybody else in here?"
Tweek put his head in his hands. He finally had the chance to talk to Craig again, and he said something stupid. "The food court," He said, his face in his hands.
Craig chuckled a bit at Tweek's antics. As the doors to the elevator closed, he stared at the elevator screen. When the "G" on the screen disappeared, he noticed Tweek glancing over at him every few seconds. He leaned his shoulder against the wall and looked at Tweek. He scanned Tweek's posture up and down. "Why do you keep looking at me?" Craig asked, noticing the beep that signified they have passed the first floor.
Tweek panicked, alarmed that Craig knew he was staring. "Oh, Jesus. I'm sorry. I just, I, well." Tweek continued rambling for a second, but was interrupted by the screeching sound of the elevator stopping. Tweek and Craig turned their attention over to the control panel. The light depicting floor was dark, and the lights in the elevator started to flicker. Craig tried pressing buttons, but nothing seemed to work. "Oh, Jesus, we are stuck in here!" Tweek panicked. He started breathing heavily and pacing around the small box. Craig continued to look at the control panel. He saw the call button and pressed it repeatedly until he got some sort of response.
"We are sorry for the inconvenience. We seem to be having technical difficulties right now. We will try our best to have you out of there as soon as possible." An automated voice resonated throughout the elevator box. "Please remain calm."
Craig threw his middle finger up to the roof of the elevator, flipping off the voice. He held his finger in place for a few seconds before turning his attention to Tweek, who was having some sort of nervous breakdown in the corner of the elevator. He saw the worry and fear in the boy's eyes. He sat down in the corner across from Tweek and rubbed the back of his neck. "Calm down. They said they would have us out as soon as possible." He tried to calm Tweek's nerves.
"Yeah, they also said try." Tweek frantically pulled at his hair and tugged the collar of his shirt.
Craig couldn't really argue that. He pulled his phone out. After pointing it to every possible angle he could manage, he realized they were shit outta luck. "Fuck. There's no reception in here." He put his phone back in his pocket and tapped his foot on the metal floor.
Tweek continued to panic. He was pulling his hair so tight that strands were coming loose, and he was tearing a hole in the seam of his brand new shirt. He was already nervous about being stuck in the elevator. He never should have taken the elevator. He should have just taken the stairs. That would have been so much easier, and he probably would have been eating by then. But no, he took the elevator. And he took the elevator with Craig Tucker. The very same Craig Tucker that dropped him as a friend when they were kids. The very same Craig Tucker that Tweek had had a crush on since they were kids. The very same Craig.
Tweek was not able to block out the memories of elementary school as well as Craig was. Tweek remembered everything. He remembered when they would play together after school. And he remembered when they fought in third grade. He remembered waking up in Craig's room after they would have sleep overs. He remembered playing video games with Craig every single Saturday. And then, the summer before they started fifth grade, Tweek and his family took a two week long vacation to the Bahamas. And when they returned, Clyde was Craig's best friend. It was like Craig didn't even remember Tweek. He was only gone for two weeks. And he had been completely replaced. And even after seven years, Tweek sometimes still cried about it.
But Craig didn't remember any of that. He honestly couldn't even remember why they stopped being friends. And if anyone asked (and hardly anyone did) he would respond that Tweek just stopped hanging out with him. Craig had no idea how hurt Tweek was about all that. And now they were sitting in an elevator together indefinitely. Craig sighed again. "How've you been, Tweek?" he asked, trying to make conversation to get him to stop freaking out.
Tweek pulled his hands around his knees and looked up at Craig. He turned red and stuttered, "I-I've been good. You?" He rubbed his shins furiously.
"Good." He replied, nodding his head. He tried to keep the conversation going, "Done anything interesting recently?"
Tweek only shrieked in response. He returned to pulling at his hair. "This is waaaaay too much pressure!" He cried, pulling out another chunk of hair.
"I'm trying to help you out." Craig replied, "I'm sure this is the kinda shit that freaks you out."
"I appreciate it, but useless conversation is only going to make me worse!" Tweek freaked out and threw his head back against the elevator wall.
Craig crawled over to Tweek and sat beside him, "Well, what can I do to help?"
Tweek was hesitant. What he really wanted may have been an odd request for Craig. "Just, please, stay over there." Tweek pointed back to opposite corner, "And don't talk to me." That was the exact opposite of what Tweek wanted. He wanted to tell Craig to hold him and and comfort him. But he didn't want to risk making the situation more awkward. He turned his body away from Craig and buried his head in his knees.
Craig raised his brow, confused by Tweek's behavior. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to the other corner. He leaned his head into the corner of the elevator and looked over to Tweek, who was still twitching uncontrollably. Sighing, he started tapping his foot again. Every time he would start to get lost in thought, Tweek's shrieking would bring him back to reality, and the fact that they were stuck in the stupid mall elevator. Sometimes, Craig would chuckle at Tweek, and other times he would be concerned for the boy. He hated the awkwardness that filled the elevator. There was clearly some kind of elephant in the room, and Craig just wanted to make it go away. He took a deep breath and spoke once more, "What happened to us, Tweek?"
Tweek freaked out again at the question. He didn't understand what Craig meant by that. "We got stuck in this stupid elevator." He responded, pretending he didn't think about the other interpretation.
Craig frowned, "That's not what I meant. You probably remember better than me, why did we stop hanging out?" He crawled closer to Tweek once more.
"You really don't remember?" Tweek asked, the hurt apparent in his voice, "It was all you." He closed himself off.
"No, I don't remember. I remember that we used to be friends when we were kids, but I don't remember when or why we stopped." Craig tried to get Tweek's attention back. He figured that whatever happened must really upset Tweek. "Look, whatever I did, I'm sorry." Craig forced the words out. He was not used to apologizing for anything. But when he thought about hurting Tweek, he sincerely felt bad.
Tweek turned his head to look at Craig. He had never heard him apologize for anything. "You have never apologized to me before. And you pulled a lot of shit on me when we were kids." Tweek remarked. "Why now?"
Craig was baffled himself. He'd never apologized to anyone before. "Because seeing how much you're hurting about something that I apparently did makes me feel like shit." He confessed, for it was the only reasonable explanation for why was so quick and eager to apologize. "Now, tell me what I did."
Tweek shot Craig a small smile, but quickly looked away, "You just...stopped talking to me. I went on vacation. And you said you would wait for me every day I was gone. And then, when I got back, you spent all your time with Clyde. You wouldn't even talk to me. Why would you do that, Craig?" Tweek started to let a few tears slip from his eyes. He was quick to wipe them away and hide his head.
Craig could see bits and pieces of what Tweek was saying in his head. And suddenly that portion of his life came back to him. He remembered Tweek leaving for that vacation. While Tweek was away, Craig got really bored waiting around for him to come home. He saw Clyde kicking around an empty soup can in the middle of the street and went out to play with him. Craig had never realized how cool Clyde was until then, and they played together the next day, and the day after that, and every day thereafter. And when Tweek came back, Craig felt that Tweek and Clyde wouldn't get along very well. So he continued to hang out with Clyde. He meant to go back to Tweek and hang out with him, but Clyde just consumed so much of his time. And then as the summer came and gone, school was just too hectic. And Craig never got the chance to hang out with Tweek, until Craig forgot all about it.
Craig felt horrible. Tweek was sitting on the cold metal floor curled up into a ball crying, and it was all Craig's fault. "I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. It was never my intention to hurt you."
"But you did." Tweek wrapped his arms even tighter around his knees. "And now, here we are. Me and Craig fucking Tucker, trapped in a small box, forced to have this conversation." He cried, "This is just waaaay too much pressure!"
Craig grabbed Tweek's hands and held them tightly, "I bet this is hell for you, but I'm kinda having a good time. I'm glad we are having this conversation. And I'm glad to be spending time with you again. Now that I think about it, I've really missed you, Tweek." Craig smiled, pulling his hat off. "Goddamn, it's getting really fucking hot in here!" He looked away from Tweek for a moment, but quickly looked back. "Don't you think?" He half-smiled.
Tweek shrugged, his hands still being encased by Craig's. "I guess so." Tweek was staring at Craig's jet black hair gleaming under the elevator light. It took everything in Tweek's body to stop himself from lunging toward Craig and connecting their lips. He knew it was inappropriate, and there may be cameras watching, and then it would get awkward. But he really wanted to. "Craig…" Tweek's voice trailed off and his eyes diverted to the floor.
Craig said nothing. He opened his dark blue eyes wider to the blonde and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. Patiently, he awaited more to come from Tweek's mouth. He looked deep into Tweek's bright green eyes. He's never noticed how captivating Tweek's eyes were. He left that he could stare into them forever.
Tweek noticed Craig's stare. "Would it be weird...or awkward...or bad of me, GAH! Craig, I just want to tell you. That, I, well. I." Tweek was about to say something when the two of them could feel the elevator start to move again.
"Hey, it's fixed!" Craig cheered, helping the two of them stand up off the floor. The automated voice came back, apologizing for the wait and explaining how they got the power back. However, neither Craig nor Tweek was listening. Before they knew it, the doors opened on the third floor.
Tweek sighed. He had come so close to telling Craig how he felt. As stupid as it sounded, he wished they could have just stayed stuck in that elevator forever. Sure, eventually they would have run out of oxygen, and it definitely was starting to get hot in there. But he had the chance to be alone with Craig, and everything was perfect for those last few minutes. Tweek glanced at Craig and made a move to go to the Chick-Fil-A across the food court.
Craig glanced back at Tweek and waved goodbye as he started heading off in the other direction. He scanned the crowd looking for Clyde. He saw him with an empty tray sitting at a table all by himself. He wandered over, looking back at Tweek every once in awhile. He ordered his Taco Bell and sat down with Clyde. "Hey, asshole." He picked up his first taco.
"Dude, where have you been? I've been waiting here for like an hour man!" Clyde asked.
"The stupid elevator stopped working when I was in there. I was stuck in there for like a half hour." Craig remarked. Suddenly, his phone started playing Clyde's ringtone again, over and over again. "Jesus, dude. How many times did you try to text me?" He pulled his phone out and scanned through the messages.
"Approximately 47." Clyde answered quickly. And to Craig's amazement, there were exactly 47 unread messages. "I was worried. You said you were coming, and then you never picked up or anything."
Craig set his phone back down and continued eating. Clyde was telling him some lame story about his job, but Craig wasn't listening at all. And it was fairly obvious. Clyde knew that most of the time he was talking to himself. But today it was different. Craig wasn't even making an effort to at least act like he was interested. "Hello, Earth to planet Craig." Clyde grinned trying to get Craig's attention.
Craig was too busy thinking about his conversation with Tweek in the elevator. He was going over everything, feeling like he forgot something very important. Suddenly, it dawned on him. Tweek as trying to tell him something right before the elevator started working again. "I'll be back." Craig dropped his taco on the tray and sprinted over to where Tweek was sitting at a table by himself. He sat down beside Tweek and stopped to catch his breath, "What were you going to say?" He asked, setting his hand on Tweek's shoulder.
"W-what?" Tweek jumped a bit when he saw Craig sitting next to him again. They were out of the elevator. Craig didn't have to be nice anymore.
"You were saying something. What were you trying to tell me?" Craig asked, lifting Tweek's chin to meet his gaze. Craig was impatient. He had a feeling he knew what Tweek wanted to say. Before Tweek could even set down his sandwich to continue the conversation, Craig flung himself forward and pressed his lips to Tweek's. Tweek's eyes opened wide. Craig's tongue ran along Tweek's lips for entrance, but Tweek forbade simply because he was still in the process of chewing his latest bite. Craig pulled away, "That was it, wasn't it?" Craig asked confidently.
Tweek finished chewing and swallowed his food. He set the sandwich back down on the tray. Without opening his mouth, he wrapped his arms around Craig's neck and went in for another kiss.
A/N: So this idea popped into my head yesterday and I just had to do something about it. I originally anticipated making it a bit more comical, but it turned out pretty romantic and dramatic. But what can I say, I just went wherever felt right. And this felt right to me. I hope you like it. Love you lots.