The door slid open and Tweek found the cafeteria at its usual capacity; buzzing with what would be considered an otherwise lively congregation of youth if not for the circumstances. He shivered slightly at the crowd. It was no different from high school, and yet it seemed that the same amount of eyes watched his every step with scrutiny.

Of course, such wasn't the case and he was fully aware of that. That's what brought him here in the first place, after all.

Patients bustled to and from tables, taking seats with trays in their hands and picking at their food while they chatted.

He found solace in the occupied table at the far end of the dining hall, immediately recognizing the collective faces of his friend and familiars. He joined them shortly, half-heartedly treating himself to a plate of food and taking a seat at the end of it with a sheepish greeting.

"Hi."

"Hey, Tweek!" the first to warmly receive him was, per usual, the Clyde boy who always seemed to alternate between smiling and sobbing. "What's shakin'?"

"Uh, n-nothing?" he answered, wary at first that he'd been tricked. But Clyde seemed to make no mention of it and returned to the conversation he'd been happily partaking in before he arrived.

In the meantime, someone else took a seat across from him. "T-Tweek. Hey."

"Hey." he offered a brief wave and a tight smile, though it was as sincere as he could manage in spite of the internal panic. "How are you- How are you doing?"

"Good… Go- fuck! Ah, I'm g-good. How are you?"

"Oh...Ah…" Words were difficult to find. Possibly moreso for Tweek than anybody else at the table, who seemed to have no problem recollecting adventures and stories from the outside world. In particular, Tweek had just finished talking about the time he'd pranked his mother with deliberately leaving the toilet seat up as it apparently 'drove her insane'.

"Seriously? That's hi-hilarious!" Jimmy praised. "I wish I could see the look on her f… face."

"She was so pissed." he laughed, "She even followed me to school that day!"

"I remember that." Token said "You cried like a baby."

"Did not!" he argued.
Tweek watched them with a slight smile. He liked to think that these were the type of people he would willingly surround himself if he ever made it to high school, though unlikely as it was. But in some ways- this was better.

"Oh." Token began, "That reminds me, I heard that a new kid is coming today."

"A new k-kid, huh?" said Jimmy "I w… wonder who it is."

"I don't know. But we could use another fr- Ah! Jimmy, what the hell?!" he scanned his tray several times over for the muffin that had been there a second ago. In a flash it had whisked itself away, miraculously, to Jimmy's empty plate. "Seriously?"

"F...F...Finders keepers, Token. Sorry." he smiled as he took a triumphant bite of his keep.

Though somewhat disgruntled, Token merely slumped his shoulders and picked at another part of his plate. The mashed potatoes had seemed more appetizing in the first place, he reasoned.

"Timmy!" exclaimed the young man in the wheelchair who sat at the opposite end of the table.

Then, with two fingers pressed to his temple- Watch it, my friends. You shouldn't get carried away.

"It's not like any adults are watching us." said Clyde.

"Yeah." added Token, "Besides, aren't you using your powers right now, Timmy?"

That's not what-

"Move aside fags." Cartman, the heavyweight (no pun intended) champion of ruining decent meals took it upon himself to sit on Tweek's side of the table. Naturally, this required some 'scooting' which more or less took the form of Cartman asserting his bodyweight until Tweek, Token and Jimmy were pushed towards the outermost edge of the bench.

"Seriously, fatass?" Stan rolled his eyes as he took a seat across from him and politely slid across to leave room for two more of his pals.

"Yeah, that's fucking rude, dude."

"Nobody fuckin' asked you Kyle!"

"Oh, jesus…" Tweek felt his nerves on their ends. Somehow, he always ended up in the least desirable seat and it never ceased to stress him out. Which wouldn't have been an issue on its own had it not been for the private dilemma he was dealing with under the table.

That, of course, being the increasing increments of water swirling between his fingertips as he rigidly tapped the underside of the table. And as much as he wanted to stop, he'd learned better than to leave his 'urges' unattended. Lest they fester in the form of soggy food and overflowing drinks.

"Tweek, are you- shit! are you okay?"

He looked up, suddenly and smiled at Thomas. "Yeah! Totally fine!"

It was a lie and that much was apparent between the both of them. But as it was, neither of them were truly 'fine' at any given moment. Otherwise they wouldn't be here. Likewise, neither would any of the peculiar acquaintances they'd come to know as their friends.

"Then why are you shaking like a goddamn vibrator?" Cartman asked.

"Ah! Seriously, am I?!" he looked down at himself, noting that his legs had in fact been shaking and consequently jostling the entire table. Again. "Oh man…"

"Don't worry about it, Tweek." Token patted his shoulder calmly. "I didn't notice."

"Neither did I. Besides, at least you don't smell like a fat racoon."

"Clyde, shut the fuck up!"

Kyle and Stan seemed to get a good laugh of it, at least, but somehow Tweek felt that he wouldn't be getting off that easily. Cartman was one hell of a grudge holder, and Tweek happened to make a perfectly docile punching bag.

"Leave Tweek alone, dude." said Stan, "You're just jealous because his ability is way cooler."

"Oh bullshit!" Cartman rose from his seat and leaned forward in what seemed to be a form of intimidation. Or at the very least, it was an attempt. "Look at me, I'm fuckin' Tweek and I can move water around and shit, I'm so fucking awesome guys!"

"It's better than being a human raccoon fatass!"

"Nuh-uh, racoons are way cooler than whatever the fuck Tweek is!"

"My-My power really isn't all that great, guys! Ngh…" he couldn't help the twitch in his eyes. The water pooled around his palm in a startlingly greater amount than what he had priorly been managing.

"Don't pay any attention to them, Tweek." a gentler voice reassured. From the way Stan's posture immediately straightened, it was safe to assume that the one who'd laid a hand on his shoulder was Wendy. He glanced back and sure enough, she was standing there with a smile.

"Oh not this shit again… Stan, what did we tell you about bringing your girlfriend over here?!" Cartman griped.

But rather than pay his complaints any mind, Stan simply scooted over and gave Wendy ample space to be seated, to which she happily obliged. She, too, had a tray, although it was mostly eaten by then.

"Goddamnit…"

"Hey, Wendy." Token greeted her politely, and Clyde followed suit with a mouthful of fries.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"Oh, y'know. Usual."

"Jesus christ, so fuckin' nosy. Don't you have some lip gloss you've gotta put on or something?"

The sound of something short-circuiting caught their attention, then steam emitted from Cartman's pocket. "Ay!" he yanked his phone out and bashed it repeatedly, desperate for some kind of signal. But alas, the phone only reflected the desperation in his eyes through its black screen. "Damnit, you bitch!"

"Quit calling my girlfriend a bitch, fatass!"

While the two bickered, she attended to her meal. Though a voice rang through her head in the meantime.

Wendylyn. I strongly advise against using your abilities that way. It's all fun and games now, but it could cause trouble down the line if you're not careful.

She smiled in Timmy's direction, "You're right. I'll be careful."

"Timmy!"

He didn't seem interested in commenting further, either because he was satisfied or because that's what she'd said the last seven times and knew better at this point than to pursue it.

"Oh, the new kid's here, by the way. They're probably filling out the paperwork right about now."

"Oh yeah." Stan mused, biting into his food and chasing it with an impatient swallow. "How do you know that?"

"The director's phone went off about an hour ago, and then the receptionist got a phone call from the director. When that happens, it usually means they're getting ready for another one."

"That reminds me." she continued, "Stan, your exit date is coming up pretty soon, isn't it?"

"Uh…" he chewed on his lip for a second. Then, "Yeah, I think so… Why?"

"I was just cross checking the database to figure out which one of us is gonna be leaving first. So far, I'm pretty sure it's Token."

"Me?" he asked "Are you sure?"

"Says you're scheduled to go in a few months… Besides, out of all of us, who else would it be?"

"Uh…" he considered it. "You're pretty normal. When are you getting out of here?"

"Yeah." Stan asked, with a mild twinge of concern in his voice. "You're not leaving yet, right?"

"No, no." she laughed "Not to worry guys. I'm here for another year or so. It's still open-ended for now, but they haven't hinted towards anything yet."

"Hey." Clyde said "What's the first thing you guys are gonna do when you get out of here?"

"I'm getting the hell away from Kyle!"

"I'm filing for a restraining order against Cartman."

Naturally, the two shared an agitated glance at the coincidental timing in which they shared their 'plans'.

"Good question…" Wendy leaned back in her seat and pressed her fingers to her chin in thought. "Well, I definitely want to go to a college. And maybe become a lawyer… No, the tech field? Or president. Y'know, I'm not really sure.."

"Ambitious.." Token commented, with a vague degree of envy. "I'm going to start a business. I wanna help out amputees."

"That's so fucking lame dude." Cartman rolled his eyes and helped himself to his second serving of soda. A poignant burp followed as he laid out his master plan.

"I think I'm just gonna take over my dad's tool shop." Stan shrugged, laying his spoon down.

"Really? That's…." Kyle hesitated. "Predictable."

"Well-" he indignantly huffed, "What else am I supposed to do?! I hate school and there's no way I'm selling my ass like Cartman's mom, so handyman it is."

"Ay!"

"What about you, Tweek?" Wendy asked.

He looked over at Thomas with panic suddenly swelling in his chest and threatening to poor out in the form of a misplaced flood. But he kept the tides ebbed to the best of his ability and breathed a sigh. "I… I don't know… C-Coffee…? I like… uh… coffee."

"Really?" Token raised his eyebrow and noted (sarcastically), "I never would have guessed.. Ah, why? They didn't- move up my exit, did they?!"

"No, no! We're just curious, Tweek, What kind of stuff did you do at home anyway?"

Several eyes were on him, he realized, and it was enough to cause some profuse internal sweating. Thomas seemed to catch onto this and offered a semblance of relief, at least. "Ah, I… fuck, I want to… go to therapy."

"Th-Therapy?" Jimmy asked "I-Isn't what we're doing now kind of l-like therapy…?"

"Not… really, shit! Agh… Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it." Token assured.

Tweek couldn't help the guilt settling into his stomach as he realized he'd forced Thomas to come to his rescue, again. It was senseless that he was unable to answer such a simple question, and yet- when it came to the thought of the real world… of having to potentially deal with groups of people that were larger, and potentially even louder than the ones he was currently used to-

Well, needless to say, the floor was wet. Cartman slipped rising out of his seat. "Ah- God damnit, Tweek! You fucking asshole, you did that on purpose!"

"H-huh?!" he sat up, quickly realizing that a fair amount of liquid was streaming from his palms and haphazardly spilling out unto the floor. With haste, he attempted to quell it. "Ah! Sorry! I-I'll make it stop!"

"Hurry Tweek, my shoes!" Wendy exclaimed, leaping out of her seat.

"O-Okay!" Tweek concentrated to the best of his ability, trying desperately to not let the increasing number of faces, the attention, the noise, the pressure make things anymore difficult than they already were. "Aghh…."

Needless to say, he was struggling.

"Oh boy." Token sighed.

"Here we go again…" said Kyle.

It was at times like this that he prayed to have an ability like Wendy's- one that was at his beck and call. Or the ability to speak with his mind. Literally anything else would have been nice but in this situation, he felt like such a loser. The outcast of outcasts. "Sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"Tweek, ah...shit, fuck! It's fine!"

"I-I'll make it stop. Please stop it!" he commanded. The water seemed to shake a bit, as if nearly receptive, but ultimately did not budge until he took a step back and plugged his ears. Concentrate. Concentrate.

"Attention." A monotonous, vaguely feminine voice declared over the intercom "Ward C, please dispose of your lunches and return to your rooms. I repeat: Ward C; Lunch has now concluded, please return to your rooms."

He couldn't help the sigh of relief that fell from his lips as the prospect of having some alone time settled in. In accordance to his demeanor, whomever was responsible for organizing the hospital saw it fit that Tweek abstain from having a roommate for a while. The water dissolved into a thin layer of mist that eventually waned, and Wendy was spared from having to replace her shoes.

Clyde nudged his shoulder as he passed. "See ya later, Tweek."

"Yeah," Token followed suit "Try not to flood out your room, okay? We do not need a repeat of what happened last time."

"Y-yeah… See ya!" he waved, dipping the remaining scraps of food on his tray into the nearest compost bin. As another acquaintance passed by, he mustered the energy to say "Later, Thomas!"

"La… Later." he reciprocated.

The return to his appropriate hall was uneventful and people were still filing into their rooms. Though there was a significantly fewer amount of traffic on his side of the hall as he happened to be placed into an area reserved for those of whom were less 'successful' around too much commotion.

Naturally, it was one of his favorite aspects of living here. Free food and wardrobe aside.

Although- "Goddamnit Tweek, would you cut it out already?!"

There were some things that could use some improvement. Namely, Cartman's attitude.

"S-Sorry dude… I'm really n-not doing it on purpose!" he explained. A puddle of water followed his footsteps as he walked, as if he were soaked from the rain or freshly bathed.

"Well get a hold of yourself. The last kid that couldn't get his shit together had to spend two weeks suspended from the roof. Is that really what you want?"

"Agh, no! That's n-not really a thing, is it?!" he bit the tips of his nails, unwittingly encouraging the amount of water pooling at his feet.

"Dude." A secondary voice rang out from behind. "What's wrong with you."

He turned around, suddenly, half-convinced that the inconspicuous army of ninjas that the hospital employed (which totally was not a figment of his imagination) had finally come to collect him. "Ah!"

An unexpectedly large amount of water suddenly met the young man's face with a splash. And from his perspective, through dripping wet bangs and a not-at-all amused expression, things weren't looking good for Tweek. Considering he'd instinctively held his hands out defensively and whatnot.

"...Seriously?" he stepped forward with an eerie calm, invoking a terrified squeak as he grabbed Tweek's collar and yanked him. "Seriously! What the hell is your problem!?"

"Ohh, come quick everybody, Tweek and the new kid are about to fight!" Cartman shouted.

There weren't a great many people traversing that hall, but those who were happened to take interest and gather around in a curious circle.

"It… It was an accident!" he insisted. He wasn't exactly in the best position to frame it that way, though.

Nor did the 'new kid' seem interested in entertaining the thought. "Uh-huh. Then this is an accident, too." he reeled his fist back and the spectators shared their collective enthusiasm, in spite of Tweek's persistent efforts to pull away.

"Mmf!"

A puff of black smoke filled the air and briefly agitated several lungs. Tweek felt immediately that his grip had relinquished and caught himself before he hit the ground. Though relieved, he was immediately perplexed- but not more so than the new kid, who seemed less than pleased at the interruption. "What the fuck?!"

A kid about their age stood between them in the wake of the dissipating mist, his fists at his sides protectively. "Mph, mm!"

"What the hell are you saying."

The boy straightened up, tossing his hood off of a wild blond mess. "I said, leave him alone!"

"Ah damnit Kenny, you always ruin everything!" Cartman gave him a thumbs down and encouraged others in the crowd to do the same, although they were quick to lose interest and move along.

"Look, I'm not the one that started this shit, okay?! He threw water in my goddamn face!"

"It was an accident…" Tweek began, though the look of irritation the boy tossed him told him that an explanation at this point in time was probably futile.

"I doubt he was trying to pick a fight with you." Kenny reasoned, "Besides- Right now, you're just giving the fatass what he wants. Don't let him play you guys like this."

He stared at Kenny with a frown, clenching and unclenching his fists with evident consideration. Regardless of what his decision was, Kenny seemed to ready himself for whatever conclusion the new kid would come to.

Although, the boy merely seemed to straighten himself out, turn aside and slip his hands into his pockets with a customary middle finger to the both of them. "Whatever."

"Fine, Kenny, be a fag! You're so poor you can't afford television so you throw paint on walls to watch it dry!" Cartman turned away and headed off in the opposite direction.

Kenny dignified the remark with little more than a disinterested eye roll. "Anyway, I've gotta get back."

The female voice returned to the intercom- "Residents of Ward C, please return to your rooms. Check ins will occur in approximately five minutes."

"Later, Tweek." he knelt to the ground and Tweek bidded him a quick farewell as he disappeared into a cloud of purple smoke.

He and the new kid remained dumbly in the hall and for a moment, Tweek was overcome with a vague sensation of… confidence? Encouragement?

"S-Sorry about that… It really was a misun-"

"Don't talk to me." he snapped. With that, he turned away and headed off.

Tweek was left in the dust of his efforts and couldn't help the disappointment crawling into his skin. But alas, it couldn't be helped. It was that kind of attitude that he'd gotten used to the most, after all, although he found that it was much more prevalent in the outside world than it had ever been in here. In a way, it was almost refreshing.

A splash of bittersweet reality in the institution he'd come to know as a home.

With a sigh, he turned away and found his room.

"Mmkay," said the counselor, straightening a stack of papers in his hands. "Tweek, I know it's been about a week since we last checked in, but anything you'd like to tell me? Anything new?"

"No." he said. It wasn't entirely true, there was that ordeal with that jackass down by his ward but it wasn't the first time a new guy had copped an attitude. It probably wouldn't be the last, either. This place wasn't exactly a dream come true to some people.

"Mm...Kay." he jotted something down on his notebook. Tweek assumed it was contradictory- or at least, that's what the furrow in his brows implied. That instead of recording his words he was instead dictating that Tweek had gotten significantly worse, that there was no hope for him and he was just going to have to be sold off to the circus as his parents suggested. They were 'joking', sure, but every joke is fostered by a tidbit of truth. And he didn't trust that truth.

"Tweek." he snapped his fingers, drawing his head up in surprise.

"H-Huh?"

"I asked you about your medication. Do you feel like it's working, at all? You're not having any more delusions are you? No more gnomes?"

"Gn...Gnomes." he blinked, but quickly realized that was a mistake. Because they were there, they were always there in the corner of his eye, in the corner of his mind. The fucked up part is that he knew they weren't there and they knew it too and yet-

"F-Fine!" he gripped the edges of his seat tightly. Mr. Mackey made a note of that as well.

"Uh-huh… Right." he flipped a page of the documents he was holding and skimmed over it.
"Anyways, it says here that your abilities have gotten less stable over time. Why do you think that is?"

"How should I know?!"

"Well, okay… Okay. I understand." he added several lines to his notes, but his hand must have tired because he eventually shook out his wrist and rested the pen against the pad. "Well, we'll touch more on that later. But for now, I'll just fill you in on what's going on with your family back at home."

Tweek suppressed a groan. As much as he loved his parents, the messages they would send him were never exactly reassuring. Always just… 'can't wait to have you back, Tweek' or 'The coffee isn't going to grind itself' and it only served to remind him that he was a human coffee pot in a teenager's body.

"Now, your mother says she hopes you're doing well, and that she's working on a different blend for the shop. Business is going smoothly, but since you're here they've been paying out of pocket to hire some of the local high school kids to fill your shoes."

He cringed. Those poor, poor bastards.

"And your father says he misses 'ya and that he'll see ya real soon. And then he mentioned something about how the… how the new brew your mother was talking about, tastes like a morning meadow covered in… what was it? Dandies? Daisies? Well…"

Tweek had zoned out at that point, but in summary, the house had yet to burn down at home and their coffee was thriving. Business as usual, quite literally, except that they aren't entitled to free labor anymore on account of some very inconvenient laws (something about minimum wage and reasonable hours). They couldn't wait to have him back, hoped that he couldn't wait to be back and Tweek just hoped that he would minimize the chunks he'd inevitably pull out of his hair that night.

"...So Tweek." Mr. Mackey continued once he'd finished relaying the thrilling news, "You've got… let's see, here. A year left before you're discharged. How does that make you feel?"

"Scared!"

"Mmkay. And why is that, Tweek?"

"I… I don't want to go back." he admit. It was something he wouldn't dare say in front of his friends, who only ever seemed to grow increasingly more excited at the prospect of their exit dates nearing. Every second, hour, day growing closer to freedom seemed to fill their hearts with joy. It almost pained Tweek that he was incapable of feeling the same way.

But honestly, was it all that surprising?

"There was this… this guy. In the halls. He, he wanted to fight me!"

Mackey's eyes widened slightly, though he made no comment.

"I… It was an accident. He scared me and, and I got water on him. I… I splashed him, okay?! But I didn't mean to!"

"Uh-huh." Mackey folded his hands in his lap. "Go on."

"I didn't mean to, I just… The way he- The way he talked to me. Why do they act like that, man?! What did I do to deserve this? I tried to apologize and he just- he just ignored me! Agh! Why do they all do that!"

"Do people ignore you often, Tweek?"

"Not often enough!" he complained "I just.. I just wanna be left alone. But people like that… that jerk, they're everywhere out there. I don't understand why everybody's so excited to go back to that. A-And I have this stupid power! It's so annoying!"

"Tweek, you're… doing it again." Mackey pointed out politely.

Tweek's head jerked up and he glanced behind him. A large orb of water had accumulated behind him, wavering and bobbing with every sharp jerk. Naturally, this caused him to slouch back and groan; the water evaporating into mist. "See…?"

"Well Tweek, it's true that there are people out there who are going to want to start fights. Sometimes, they do it for no good reason- Just look at Cartman." he explained. "But that doesn't mean you should be ashamed to be yourself, or feel like you don't have the right to be there… You see, the goal here isn't just to stabilize your powers, Tweek. We also want to make sure you kids feel welcomed and prepared when you get back out there."

As much as he understood what Mr. Mackey was trying to say, he couldn't help but pay close attention to his feet and his half-done laces. "Ugh…"

"That reminds me." he said, "Some of the specialists and I have been discussing things lately and… Well, we've decided that you're ready. To have a roommate."

"Huh?" his head snapped up "A roommate?! Are you out of your mind, how am I supposed to-"

"Easy Tweek. I know, it sounds scary. You've never done it before, and you have no idea what to expect." Yes, that is exactly what Tweek was worried about, among other things, and somehow hearing it outloud made it a million times worse. "But trust me, this will be good for you… It's part of becoming an adult. And the sooner you take these steps, the sooner you'll be able to go home and kiss this place goodbye forever."

His heart was jackhammering the hell out of his chest. It wasn't pleasant. "But I don't want a roommate!"

"See, now, you've got to have an open mind, Tweek… If you go into something ready for whatever life decides to throw at you, you can't go wrong." he pressed his papers against the desk and shut his notebook. "Besides, we've already moved him into your room so, uh… You really don't have much of a choice here."

"There's no way." he tugged at the strands of hair by his ears, causing Mackey to slowly raise himself from the desk with mild concern. "I'll die. I'll die. What if he doesn't like me? What if he's weird? What if his ability is even worse than mine and we accidentally die or what if I-"

"Tweek, Tweek!" Mr. Mackey grabbed his shoulders and rattled him lightly. "Calm down… Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll come with you. I'll help ya get settled in and you two can take it from there, mmkay?"

Though his heart raced, he managed several uneven breaths and gasps before he managed to calm down…

Slightly. "O-Okay…"

The walk to his appropriate ward was uneventful and smooth, though the tremors in Tweek's body didn't seem to get the message. The twitching only increased as they drew nearer down his familiar halls, which were usually quite a comfort to behold. But now, he could only worry about what awaited him on the other side, as well as what bystanders would think about the viscous amount of water he was tracking all over the ground. God, that was going to be a bitch to mop.

Mr. Mackey tried to make conversation, provide little bits of nonsensical information to distract Tweek from the haze in his own head but alas, when Tweek was consumed in these… episodes, there was very little anyone could do to pull him out of it. Such was the nature of Tweek Tweak, the professional spastic.

"Oh… Look here, Tweek." he said, gently nudging Tweek's shoulder.

Tweek hesitated to look up, wary that it was just another misshapen bug or something… But his eyes actually widened slightly when he did, because the face he found was actually familiar.

"Tweek. Counselor Mackey. Good to see you both." The man greeted, extending his hand out warmly.

Mr. Mackey shook it and as much as Tweek knew it would have been appropriate to return the gesture, he looked away sheepishly.

"Dare I say it… Is that my little rainmaker? My, your power gets more and more enticing every time I see it." he mused.

Tweek couldn't help the flutter of joy that filled his heart. Maybe it was what he said to every student, but he couldn't help it- he never got tired of hearing that. "Hello Sir…"

"You know better than that." he chided lightly, "Just call me Mr. Conner."

"Oh...Okay…"

The man smiled. He was relatively young, considering the massive status he'd achieved thus far. As the director of a privately owned hospital, paid for and funded by his own wealth and a handful of donors, one might think he was well into his forties. But on the contrary, he looked quite young and although he'd never formally confirmed it, there was much speculation that he was actually still in his thirties.

Mr. Conner extended his hand outwards and Tweek subconsciously readied himself for the hand that brushed against his hair and smoothed it. "While I'm here, would you show me that trick of yours again?"

"Ah…" he hesitated, glancing back and forth briefly to assure that he wasn't being watched.

He held his palms out and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes as he concentrated all of his energy into his display.

The water collected into his palms, balled itself into an orb and fluctuated to live. It eventually broke apart into separate figures, until two aquatic dolphins danced around his fingers.

"There it is." Conner mused, watching it with a slight smile. "Don't ever let anyone tell you your power isn't beautiful, Tweek. If it brings this much happiness into my life, I can only hope that it'll one day do the same for you."

With that, he rested a hand on his shoulder and gave him an assured smile. Tweek returned it, though it was forced and probably not as appealing in comparison.

"M-Mr. Conner…" he began with a nervous gulp. "Is it true? I'm getting a roommate? But…"

"Ah, that." he straightened up and folded his hands behind his back. "It's true that we decided it was about time for you to advance towards the second phase of your program. But fear not- your roommate may come off a bit rough around the edges, but I encourage you to give him a chance."

"But-"

"Life is full of inconveniences, Tweek." he shook his head sympathetically, "Even in a place like this. But trust that we're doing it for your own good… And, who knows. You might even become friends one day."

That was the best case scenario, but Tweek knew better than to get his hopes up.

In fact he wouldn't be surprised if his roommate was a carbon-copy of Cartman.

"I...I guess."

"Anyhow, I'll leave you to it." Mr. Conner said "I'll be dropping by for a while, so feel free to say hello if you see me around. And Mr. Mackey."

"Y-Yes sir?"

"Keep up the good work." he smiled.

"You… You too, Sir." he gave him a brief and somewhat clumsy salute, before realizing that Mr. Conner had already gone off elsewhere. With a sigh of relief, he urged Tweek forward and led him around the corner, further down the hall until they arrived in front of one of several metal doors amid the hall of a dozen similar ones.

"Now remember." he said, pressing his hand on Tweek's shoulder lightly "If you get overwhelmed, just go to your happy place. And don't forget to take your medication. Mmkay?"

"Okay…" he said.

"Here, let me see your wrist."

Tweek gave him his wrist and Mackey aligned the band around it to the scanner attached to the door. It scrutinized the details for a second before rendering its code and validating his identity with a green, affirmative beep. The door slid open.

Taking a deep breath, he headed inside. Mr. Mackey followed him.

A young, tall man in a blue chullo and an eerily familiar frown stood on the opposite side of the room, sitting on what was once an unused and forgotten bed.

"Craig. This here is Tweek. For the next year or so, he'll be your roommate."

A/N: Song of the (t)week: Zero - Imagine Dragons

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