Oh no, not another fanfiction! I actually had a dream about this one and had to write it down because it was eating my brain.

*Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to South Park or the characters.

Chapter One

I just remember staring at Tweek for what seemed like hours, though I'm sure it was only a few minutes. It had been four years…four years. How the hell did you get this bad Tweek? What happened to you while I was gone? Why did this happen to you? Questions and guilt infected my brain like locusts to a field of crops. The blonde boy that was standing—hunched and terrified—in front of me, was not the boy I left four years ago.

Four Years Earlier: Eighth Grade

It was my last day in South Park Middle School. My dad's job had been transferred just outside of Denver; he always complained that commuting was hell, especially on the seasonal snowy roads. And thus, our dull blue house was put on the market. No one actually bought it yet, but that didn't stop us from packing our shit and getting the hell out. My mother was ecstatic to finally get out of South Park, while my sister bitched that she would never forgive our family for making her "abandon" her friends. Personally, I was indifferent, which was to be expected. I mean, I'd miss Clyde and Token, but they'd get over it. I didn't have a problem in the world when it came to leaving this shit town. No one would really miss me. Clyde might for a bit, but after a good greasy meal he'd be fine. At least…I thought no one would miss me, until the very end of the day.

I was shoving everything I possibly could from my locker into my backpack. The reason I had enough clothes in there to put together two outfits still eludes me today. It also made fitting crap into my backpack that much more difficult. I ended up throwing everything away to save my spine from snapping on the way home. Finally, the items in my locker dwindled to a few useless knickknacks that I tried to find space for in my exploding pack. I was in the middle of stuffing a polished rock in the front pocket when I heard a series of small squeaks and squeals to my right. I only knew one person that could make such noises.

"Sup Tweek?" I said, without looking up from my pervious task. The jittery boy's locker was right next to mine, because our last names were close in spelling. Because of this, Tweek and I were also placed in the same homerooms all throughout middle school. We've always been acquaintances but nothing special. If I caught sight of Tweek in the cafeteria I'd wave him over to sit at our table. I liked him, he was cool, and his quirks amused me to no end. We were lab partners in science, and often paired together in math because we both did well in that subject. The strange thing was though, while I hung out with other people, I never saw Tweek with anyone else. I don't like to think of myself as the only guy in the school who talked to him. So, I simply brushed off the potential issue, like I usually did with things that made me uncomfortable.

"Ngh—hi Craig." Tweek said politely while I growled in frustration. This stupid rock wasn't going to fit. I'd just throw it out before I left school. I finally straightened and glanced over at the blonde. Tweek's large green eyes were glued to my exploding backpack. "Are you moving lockers?" He asked curiously.

I stared at the vibrating teen blankly. Did I really forget to tell him I was moving? I sighed and slammed the metal door shut, reveling in the hollow sound that echoed back.

"No, I'm actually moving to Denver. Today was my last day." I can remember the look in those eyes better than anything else that happened that day. His gaze shifted from my face to my backpack in quick flitting movements. The blonde's subtle tremors became nervous quakes and his pupils glued to the floor.

"W-What? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked quietly, looking as if the dirty floor was suddenly very interesting.

"I didn't think it would matter." I shrugged honestly.

"It—ngh—matters!" The caffeinated boy's head shot up to look at me so quickly that I flinched. Swiftly his hands dug themselves into his messy blonde locks. "Oh God, you're leaving…I'm not ready man. I didn't even say goodbye!"

"Jesus Tweek I'm not gone yet." I snickered. "Now's your chance."

"Gah—pressure…" I smirked at the familiar term. Illuminating irises dug into my blue eyes. They were shining more than usual…Oh God…Tweek wasn't going to cry was he? I couldn't stand to see the little guy cry. "I'm going to miss you," he whispered hoarsely, "you're the only—ngh-friend I've ever had…"

Shit.

I wasn't expecting that. The skin on my face began to burn, and I covered the embarrassing blush with a gloved hand while looking discretely to the side. "I…uh…" I faked a cough and pounded my chest. "...hey, I'll miss you too." I looked down at the small polished rock still in my hand. I shoved it in Tweek's face. The blonde flinched; startled.

"Gah—what's that?" Tweek squealed.

"It's a present—"

"Jesus! I didn't get you anything!"

"Shut up. It's a gift to remember me by." I shrugged simply. Tweek glanced at me nervously before hesitantly sending onward a shaky hand, palm up. I dropped the pebble into his hand and smiled. "Bye Tweek." I ruffled his crazy hair before turning around to exit the school.

"Bye Craig…"

That was the last time I heard Tweek Tweak speak.

Four Years Later: Senior year

I stood in front of a familiar blue house and sighed, glancing at the dark windows and over grown front lawn. No one actually ended up buying our house, and the extra mortgage plus Ruby threatening to run away, became too much pressure for my mother to handle. Denver was cool, I actually really liked it. We lived in a nice apartment that had an assortment of shops and shit to do around it. I'd made some new friends, and even was in a nice relationship for a while. Yeah, life was good, but I learned early on in life that good things never last.

Ruby skipped along in front of me, dragging a large suitcase behind her.

"Isn't this great Craig?" She mused, "We get to see all of our old friends again!" I frowned and scratched the back of my head through my blue chullo hat.

"Yeah…super…" I muttered and opened the front door.

One week later, I was sitting on the front porch waiting for Token and Clyde to pick me up. I was officially enrolled in Park High School. Apparently after middle school they took all of the communities of Park County and shoved all the kids into one learning institution. That's what Clyde told me anyway. When he found out I was back in town he'd screamed so loud into the phone receiver I swore I went deaf for a minute. Clyde and I stayed in contact over the years through Facebook. In fact, it's like I never left, all my previous friends and I would occasionally take up an electronic conversation; funny how the world is so small now.

A sleek black Mercedes halted across the street. I whistled lowly in awe of the tiny vehicle. It only had two doors, which meant I'd have to haul my ass into the backseat. Clyde popped out of the polished beauty and waved me over. He was wearing a red COWS lettermen jacket. I smirked and shook my head; so predictable.

Clyde clapped me on the shoulder before wrenching the leather seat forward. Token glanced back at me and a wide grin set itself on his flawless face. "Still wearing your hat Craig?" He snickered.

"What can I say, it has high sentimental value." I shrugged, setting my back pack onto the seat next to me. Clyde hopped into the car and slammed the door shut, warranting a quick glare from Token.

"Man, be gentle, I don't want to pay for any more repairs on this baby because of you." The rich boy warned.

"Yeah yeah…" Clyde waved his hand in some sort of faggy motion. "Craig, we've got so much shit to catch up on. How was life for you in the city? Finally get your cherry popped?" I rolled me eyes.

"God damn Clyde you are such an idiot." I retorted playfully. "And of course I have, jealous?" The brunet's face turned red and he pouted.

"No." He stuck his tongue out at me through the rear view mirror.

"Clyde's still a virgin." Token clarified bluntly.

"Hey man! I'm waiting for the right girl."

"Right," I scoffed, "looks like you should lay off the tacos bro." The reaction Clyde gave me was quite amusing and I smiled. I guess I did miss South Park a little more than I let on.

I was welcomed back to high school as if I'd never left. The only weird thing was that it was considerably bigger than I thought it would be, and I didn't know the majority of kids in our grade. But, the kids I did know would smile at me in the hallway and give me the occasional fist bump, asking how life was "in the big city". I also got considerably more attention from girls, which wasn't all that surprising. Even I have to admit I grew into a damn good looking teenager. However, sometimes the attention evolved into irritating giggles, so I resorted in flipping off a lot of females.

English ended and I was trying to find my Advance Calc class. Supposedly it was on the other side of the school. I knew I was in the wrong place because the hallways were nearly empty save for the messy artwork that was plastered onto the white walls. Glancing inside the rooms, I learned that I was on the special ed part of school. Voices and a clump of students at the end of the hallway attracted me like a moth to a lamp. There was a cluster of kids surrounding two others in the middle. I walked over curiously.

"Hey it's Twitch!" Someone shouted.

"Where's your coffee Twitch?"

"Try and get 'im to speak!"

I frowned as I approached the mass of adolescent bodies. I was never a fan of bullying, but never did anything to stop it. That would require unnecessary action which would mess up my sacred daily routine. Plus, I needed to know how the fuck I was supposed to get to the Math Wing.

A flash of wild blonde hair caught my attention, and I found myself pushing through other kids so I could get a closer look at the two individuals in the middle. What I saw haunted and surprised me. I'd completely forgotten this jittery boy existed, and this was not the way that I wanted to remember.

Tweek Tweak was hunched over himself against the wall, thin hands covering his head in a weak attempt of protection. God, the kid was small…so fucking small. He looked almost exactly the same as he did in eighth grade, give or take a few inches. He wore a familiar green polo shirt with a ruffled collar underneath a brown sweater vest. His large green eyes were snapped shut in fear…but the strangest thing was that he didn't utter a sound. Not even one of his odd noises that would always escape his lips. He was silent.

The faceless jock that was beating on the poor teen sneered and lost interest. I must've gotten there toward the end of this whole "event". Students hesitantly began to disperse after the beefed up bastard deemed it time to get back to class. However I remained, frozen. Tweek still didn't open his eyes, but my gaze was elsewhere. His left arm was covered in black ink. Some of it was smudged and worn away, and some of it looked brand new, like he wrote on his arm last period. I swallowed harshly and finally gathered up the courage to speak.

"Hey Tweek…" I murmured awkwardly. The last thing I wanted to do was scare him, but the second I spoke, the blonde's eyes shot open and a cruel convulsion took his body. He panicked for a moment before allowing his green pupils to rest on my form. I still hadn't heard a single noise emit from the small boy. He blinked multiple times before shakily standing up. I stayed glued to my spot, unable to move. Awkwardly, I scratched the back of my head, "You remember me?"

Tweek brought up his right hand, palm facing me, like he was about to give a scouts honor. There was a single word crudely written on his palm so roughly that it looked like it was ground into his delicate skin like a cheap tattoo.

YES

Shock froze my limbs into place at my sides. I couldn't bring myself to look away from the horribly written word. It held me in some kind spell until Tweek slowly began to bring his hand back to his side. The small boy twitched uneasily.

"A-are you—uh—okay?" My voice cracked, and I watched as Tweek wavered before lifting up his left arm, the arm that had all of the scribbling on it.

NO

It was written just as crudely on his left palm as the one on his right. My brain was silent, but at the same time it was racing. This wasn't the Tweek that I remembered. The Tweek from middle school would be spewing out that I must be a clone. He would have said something, anything, by now. If not that he'd at least be sobbing his eyes out. I preferred that over whatever the hell this was. As if reading my mind, Tweek took a step forward and pointed to one of the many phrases that lined his pale arm. It was considerably faded and I had to squint to make it out.

I don't talk anymore.

I wanted to ask him why. I wanted to uncharacteristically comfort him. Tweek was a good kid, from what I remembered. He'd occasionally fall prey to bullies, but nothing that happened would ever scar him to the point of…silence.

The blonde shuffled awkwardly before nodding his head in the direction of a nearby classroom. I imagined him shakily saying goodbye before scooting off and disappearing. I remember standing there, long after Tweek had left and the last warning bell rung. There was only one question that echoed and bounced off of the inside of my skull until it hurt.

What happened to Tweek in the past four years that caused him to lose his voice, and where did the jittery boy I used to know go?