"Slow day, today, huh?" Craig asked me.

"Well, it is raining," I replied.

We both stood idly by the front counter. Waiting tables was not the best job in the world, personally I hated it, but it was the only job I could get, and it was thanks to Craig, too. Normally, Craig would want nothing to do with me, but when I came to Kyle and Kenny begging to help me find a job and them saying no, I think the blue-grey eyed boy actually felt sorry for me. I didn't want his stupid pity, but I was honestly just that desperate for a job.

We gradually became closer throughout the three months we've been working together, but it's still awkward to be around each other, considering we hated each other beforehand.

"Marsh," Craig said, still not getting out of the habit of calling me by my last name, "do you need a ride home after work?"

Craig knew I had to get my older sister, Shelly, to come pick me up. Usually, she would intentionally forget about me and force me to walk about seven miles home.

"If you're offering…" I replied. It's still too awkward with him.

"Yeah, duh, dumbass, why would I be asking otherwise?" he asked in his sarcastic tone. His voice wasn't nasally as it was when we were kids. It was actually deep and medium-pitched. Even so, the guy still had braces. I always wondered why he didn't get them removed.

I shrugged. "Knowing you, you could've just have been asking," I replied, calmly. I grew used to his bad boy attitude. It was who he was and he couldn't help it, I understand that. Provoking him with sarcastic comments back never got me anywhere, anyway.

"Yeah, no, I wasn't. I could give you ride after our shifts, or you could just walk home again."

"What idiot would walk seven miles in the rain? No comment, please, Craig."

Craig laughed. "I won't. You'd probably know what I was going to say anyway."

I rolled my eyes and chuckled a bit myself. We watched the rain outside hit the window and the snow on the ground. It would've been snowing, but it was actually warm outside because of a recent heat front we got. In about three hours, it'll be snowing again.

Bebe Stevens approached us in the same uniform we were in. Her blonde curls bounced as she approached. "Hey, guys. I'm off, okay? See you guys tomorrow at school," she said. She's become a lot less of a bitch since her and Wendy got in that huge fight two months ago. Wendy was so mad she took her anger out on me, which led to a painless break-up.

"Yeah, see ya, Blondie," Craig replied.

Bebe rolled her eyes, "Bye, Stan."

"Bye, Bebe."

The blonde girl left, leaving me and Craig alone. All the other waiters and waitresses had gone home. Craig had connections with the boss of the restaurant, that's how he got me in so easy, but that just made the boss give us more work, making us stay later than all the others. I didn't get that logic, but hey, that means more pay for me.

Craig pulled out his cell phone. "Fifteen more minutes. What do you want to do in the meantime?"

I shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not," Craig replied. It was silent for a few seconds until Craig's phone started ringing a line from Let go by Frou Frou.

Craig answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Craig? Hey! Are you still at work? Could you pick up some milk on your way home?" A familiar voice chimed through the phone. Oh, that's right, it was Craig's little sister, Ruby.

"What? Why? Oh, you're cooking dinner? Fuck, why can't you do get it yourself?" Craig growled.

"You know I can't drive yet!" yelled Ruby.

Craig sighed and hung up on his sister.

I chuckled a bit. "What's with your ringtone?"

"Ah, that? Ruby tampered with my phone to make it her ringtone," Craig replied.

"Shit, dude. I dunno what I'd do if my sister got a hold of my phone."

Craig laughed. "Yeah, well, my sister isn't a complete and total bitch like yours."

We laughed together and Craig stood up. "Well, come on, might as well hit the road."

We pulled off our aprons and hung them up then proceeded to run outside in the rain to get in Craig's slick, black Mercury. Craig put the keys in and turned on the engine, the car making a low hum as it started.

Craig pulled out of the parking lot and started driving along the road. It wasn't that busy, not that South Park ever was, but because of the rain it was literally vacant. There was nobody on the streets at all. Hell, there weren't even people on the sidewalks, but that's understandable. Craig pointed to a bunch of CDs sitting on the dashboard. "You can listen to those."

I looked at Craig. "What about the radio?" I asked.

Craig chuckled. "You're not serious, right? We get the worst stations."

I chuckled as well. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I grabbed for the CDs and began looking through them.

"Just a warning, some of those CDs belong to my sister."

I flipped through the different disks. Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Owl City, New Found Glory. It was easy to tell which ones were Craig's. I pulled out a Nickelback CD and put it in, turning it to If Everyone Cared.

"Ah, you like Nickelback, too?" Craig mused, smiling.

"When I'm in the mood for them, yeah," I replied. I continued looking through the different CDs, listening to Nickelback the rest of the way. Craig pulled up to a gas station and parked. He turned to me.

"Do you mind waiting in here?"

"Nah," I replied.

"Kay. Want anything?"

"Nah," I repeated.

Craig shrugged and left the car running as he got inside. I pulled out a Frou Frou CD and chuckled. Ruby must really like that band. I took out the Nickelback CD and slipped in 30 Seconds to Mars' CD This is War and played the song Kings and Queens.

I rested my head against the back of the headrest. My eyes opened slightly as I began skimming the car. Craig just recently got this car, thanks to the pay he's getting from his job. Soon, I'd finally be able to get a car of my own, but that'd be quite a while from now. The car had a peculiar scent to it too. It wasn't a bad smell, actually it smelled wonderful. I couldn't put my finger on it. Did Craig spray down his car or something?

Then it hit me, the car smelt like Craig. I blushed fiercely. Thoughts of Craig have been becoming a problem for me lately and I had no clue why. I thought Craig was a great guy and all, but I couldn't be going gay for him, could I?

My thoughts were interrupted by Craig opening the car door and slipping in. "Sorry."

"Sorry about what?" I asked, trying to hide the blush that wouldn't leave my cheeks. Craig had a tendency to say things and not explaining them until someone asked.

"For taking so long," Craig answered.

"What else is new?" I laughed.

Craig flipped me off in response and backed the car up. Soon, we were on the empty streets again. The blur of houses past by and my mind sped to try and start a conversation with the quiet boy sitting next to me.

"Craig?"

"What?"

"So, you're sister's cooking?"

Craig laughed. "Yeah, she is. She's a great cook, too."

"Really? I thought you'd say she was awful or something."

"Nah, I'm no liar. Her food is good. You've never had it have you? Do you wanna eat at my place, then?" Craig asked.

"What? You'd let me?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah, Stan, of course," he passed my house and kept going to his. He glanced over at me and back to the road. "You know, I feel like even though we've gotten along for three months, we're still not 'friends', y'know?"

I bit my lip and turned to the window. "Yeah, I guess."

He pulled up into his driveway and parked in the garage, turning off the car once we were parked. We both sat in silence, thinking there was something more to say before we got out. We looked at each other, and then got out of the car, awkwardness taking over again.

We walked inside and the delicious smells coming from the kitchen filled our noses. Craig walked into the kitchen with the milk. I'm not quite sure what happened in there, but I'm pretty sure they started arguing. I chuckled to myself and waited for Craig before taking a seat at the dining table.

Craig's mom was the only parent home tonight. She was really nice and greeted me warmly; it sort of caught me off guard. When the food finally arrived, it looked amazing! I happily ate it and thanked Ruby.

"No problem. It's nice to know someone appreciates it," she said, glaring at Craig.

"Shut up," Craig stated, flipping off Ruby and she returned the favor.

"Craig, Ruby, knock it off," their mother commanded.

They went back to eating and Mrs. Tucker looked at me. "So are you staying over, or is this just a visit? I don't see you around too much, Stanley."

"I wasn't planning on staying, but-"

"You should," Craig interrupted.

"O-okay, I guess I could. I'll have to call my folks, though."

"Well, you're welcome to use our phone. Craig and you will be having the house to yourselves, then," Mrs. Tucker said, sounding a bit frightful of leaving two teenage boys alone at the house.

"O-oh?"

"I would love to get to know you better, Stanley, but Ruby and I are going to pick up my husband," she explained, "so we won't be back until early morning."

We all finished our food and Ruby took up the plates and brought them into the kitchen. Craig and his mom went to the front door and she ran down the whole 'Call me when this, that, and the other happens' speech while I called my mom to tell her I was staying over at a friend's house.

"Craig Tucker? The boy who you ended up in Peru with?" Mom asked.

"Err, yeah, mom. That Craig," I replied.

"I-I don't think that's such a good idea, honey."

"M-mom, c'mon, it's not like we can do anything wild! Mrs. Tucker is making us stay inside."

"Oh… alright, fine, but baby, just make sure you call me if anything happens, okay?"

"Yeah, mom, I will."

"I love you, baby."

I rolled my eyes. "Love you, too, mom." I hung up and turned to see Craig walking down the hall.

"So, I guess that means we're off to my room then?" Craig asked.

"Y-yeah, I guess," I stammered.

Craig motioned me to follow him upstairs and we both went into his room. I looked around, amazed. I expected it to look like your typical teenage room: posters, messy, etc. But instead it was really clean; the walls were bare. Then I spotted Stripe in the room.

"Holy shit dude! Stripe is- is still… alive?!"

"No shit, dude. I've taken good care of him, thank you," Craig spat.

"N-no I just meant, that's one old guinea…"

Craig laughed. "Yeah, he is."

"So, um, what now?" I asked, uncertainly.

Craig shrugged, "Something."

"Something like what?"

"Something like something…"

Here comes the awkward silence again. Craig went over to sit on his bed in total silence. He stared at the floor, his eyes searching for something. I watched him, catching details from him. The way he clenched his hands into tight fists when he was unsure, and the way his head hung when he was nervous.

But why did I notice this…? Why was it I always caught every small detail of Craig? I sighed heavily, making Craig stare.

"Am I boring you?"

"W-what? N-no! I was just thinking."

"About?"

I blushed slightly and looked to the floor. "Something."

"Something like what?"

"Something like something," I mocked.

We laughed and looked at each other. He smiled slightly at me. "Seriously, what's up?"

"It's nothing, honest," I replied.

"Nah, c'mon, Marsh, I brought you hear so we could bond, dude."

"I-I know that," I looked up at him and into those defined, blue-grey eyes of his. "I don't know, dude, it's just… weird stuff has been going through my head lately."

"Oh, I see. Well, you are pretty weird so that doesn't surprise me!" he laughed.

"Shut up," I replied, chuckling.

When our laughter died down, he pulled out a deck of cards and showed me the different games we could play, some I never even heard of. Craig was really skilled, and played dirty without cheating. He said it was his style, but I wasn't complaining. I won just as much as he did. We got so into the card games, we lost track of the time.

"Hey, dude, shouldn't we be heading to bed?" I asked.

"Hmm, oh, yeah, it's like midnight. Ha, whoops."

He crawled into his bed, setting pillows and blankets on the floor for me. I curled up into the little cot-thing on the floor and looked up at Craig.

"Night," I said.

"Yeah, night, Marsh," he replied with a smile. It wasn't long before Craig was out; I'm guessing he was more beat than he looked. I tossed and turned most of the night, and finally gave up on trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in and just stared at the ceiling. The moonlight shining through the window made the whole room seem to glow a pale blue, but there was one thing that caught my attention. It always catches my attention.

Craig.

And the weird thing is, the moonlight didn't even make him look any different, or stand out anymore, and it didn't even make his pale skin shine! I just couldn't take my eyes off of him. I sat up in my cot, still looking at the sleeping boy. Okay, I assured myself, so I might be a little gay, but it's only my hormones acting up. Soon this whole phase while be over… right? Whatever the case, I knew that I wanted to do something to easy my mind, just a little.

I reached over to Craig and ran my index finger over his cheek, and then checked to see if he stirred. When he didn't, I continued running all my fingers along the smooth skin on Craig's face. Then I advanced a little further, running my thumb over Craig's soft, pink lips. I couldn't tell, but I was pretty sure I was blushing hard. My mind spun, questioning my sexuality, but something in my brain enjoyed this and told me not to stop, so I didn't, that is, until Craig grunted and flickered his eyes a bit.

I got back under the covers and made it look like I was still asleep. I couldn't see anything, but I heard a slight chuckle from Craig and rustling as he went back to sleep. We were soon out like lights.

Craig drove me to school the next day. We were both talking about our different classes and how boring they were. Out of the seven classes we had, we only had two together. He didn't even know we were together until we mentioned them. I knew we weren't close, but that's sad that he didn't even know I was in there. It bugged me a little, but I tried not to show it.

We both walked into the school, chatting about random stuff until Kenny ran over to me.

"Dude, hey! Did you hear?" Kenny asked.

"Did I hear? Hear what?"

"That Wendy's going out with Token again," Kenny said.

He watched my face, expecting a response, but there was none. "Dude, why should I care? Wendy and I are long since over."

"Aw, I know that, but like, that's the only girl you ever go out with. You have all the girls practically at your feet. Why not date them?"

I shrugged, not knowing the answer, or at least, thinking I don't. Somewhere something told me it was being I liked Craig.

"Most of the girls in this school are sluts, dude," Craig said. "I'd rather wait until I like move to a different city or something."

Kenny laughed. "You don't know that half of it."

Kyle soon walked over and joined the conversation. "Hey guys! What's up, Stan?"

"Nothing much, Ky. What have you been up to?" I asked, high-fiving my super-best friend.

"Yeah, same, it's been pretty boring at my house."

Kyle waved to Craig as well. They weren't friends any more that I was with him, but Kyle felt that since he helped me when I was in a tough situation, he should be nice to him in return. Craig never really felt fit in with us and usually left the conversations near the beginning, but right now he didn't seem to mind. He walked and talked with us all the way to Bio, then Kenny, Kyle, and I said our farewells to him as he went to History.

"So, Craig is kinda-" Kenny began.

"Kinda what?" I asked.

"You know, different," Kenny said.

"I guess."

Kenny dropped it, knowing he wouldn't get much out of me during school, and we all sat down, waiting for class to begin.

Kenny and I left Kyle to study at the library as we walked home. The whole time he had his eyes on me in complete silence. I never said anything until it freaked me out.

"Dude, what is it?" I asked, sounding annoyed.

Kenny looked to the ground, and then back at me. "What's wrong with you?"

"Me? Dude, you're the one staring."

"Only because you're acting different today, dude. What's up?"

"Nothing," I replied.

"Stan," he said, sternly.

"Nothing, Ken, drop it!"

"Stan," he said again, just as sternly.

I was quiet for the longest time. I was debating whether or not to tell Kenny. I mean, I'd much rather be telling this to Kyle than anyone else because he was my super best friend, but I think that Kenny might actually understand the situation better. I stared at my feet and bit my lip, "Promise not to tell anyone?"

"I promise."

"Or laugh?"

"I won't."

"Or-"

"Stan!"

"Okay! I-I think I…"

"You…?"

"I think I'm gay…"

Kenny stared, expecting more, so I finished.

"…for Craig."

Kenny's eyes widened. "Tucker?! You're gay f-for Tucker?! Oh my god, Stan, what the-"

"Kenny!!!"

"Oh, sorry dude, I was just surprised. I mean of all people it's Craig? I thought you were going to say Kyle."

I huffed. "No, Ken, he's my best friend, so are you, but Craig has just been… I dunno…" I hung my head downward.

"No, dude, it's fine, I understand. Besides, I do have to admit, for a dude, Craig's pretty good-looking," Kenny laughed.

I chuckled a bit in response. "I guess so."

"So… Does he like you back or…?" Kenny questioned.

"No, dude, I'm pretty sure Craig's not even gay," I sighed.

"Maybe not or maybe he is," Kenny said, smiling.

"What…?"

"Ask him out."

"No! Kenny, we're just now starting to like each other a bit! I'm not going to ruin that!"

"You won't if you do it right."

I stayed quiet and looked down to my feet. To comfort me, Kenny kept blabbering on about Craig and what all he knew about him. I thought that talking about Craig would be the last thing I wanted to hear about, but surprisingly it helped. Kenny was always good with these types of things. I reached my house and waved good-bye to Kenny, who warned me one last time that I should ask Craig out the next chance I got to. I nervously stumbled inside and collapsed on the couch. It was quiet. Everyone was probably gone, but hey, that's fine with me.

The next day at work I was working the shifts early with Bebe. Craig came in about an hour or two after Bebe was done with her shift, but I basically had all day to work. It's always like that on Saturdays. I bet you all want me to skip to the part where I confess, right? Okay, fine. After work, at the end of the day, Craig and I were left alone again; making sure the place was cleared before we left. We met up in front, taking off our aprons and getting ready to leave.

"…Craig?"

No response.

"Craig…?"

"If you need a lift, Marsh, you don't need to ask for one anymore," he said with a blank expression.

"Uh…" I started. I couldn't do this. I couldn't just openly come out and say 'Hey, Craig, I'm gay for you.' I don't think it works like that, does it? Craig didn't say anything after that. We were both in total silence and walked out to his car in the same lingering silence. Craig seemed to be perfectly fine with it. Me on the other hand…

When we got into the car, Craig immediately stuck the keys in the ignition and drove out of the parking lot, like we were in a fucking hurry to get somewhere. I swallowed the dry spit that was in my mouth and cringed slightly from the salty taste. I looked over at Craig, who was keeping his eyes locked on the road like the good driver he was. I huffed and stared down at my hands. "Craig, can we go to your house again?"

Craig looked at me like I was insane, turning his attention quickly to the road when I got a good look at it. "My folks aren't home…" he said, flatly.

That's what I god damn wanted, though. "Oh," I mumbled out, disappointed.

Craig sighed. "I guess you can come, but you have to leave before they come back…" Craig said.

"Okay," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't eager about going, but failed miserably. The rest of the way we were both quiet again, only this time I wasn't so upset about it.