Title: Calmness Fixed
Description: After they fight, Craig can't stop having dreams about Tweek. Being seriously (sexually) confused about this, he becomes a bully just to get the blonde's attention. And there might be a reason the twitchy blonde puts up with it.
Date Started: July 30, 2010
Date Finished: August 3, 2010
Author's Note: That sound wave music stuff doesn't actually work. It's a scam. Don't buy into it. IF YOU ARE LIKE ME and you just can't sleep some nights, it looks like a miracle product. and dem miracles be pretty fake. Except for maybe the expensive CD versions. But money doesn't grow on trees, children. Oh yeah, this title? It was totally a captcha on /cm/. True story, bro.
Disclaimer: I do not own South Park. Not even a tiny bit. If I did, I'm pretty sure things would be slightly gayer. I mean, different. Just a little.
"Cr-Craig! GAH!" Tweek Tweak yelled, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing, shut up." Craig responded, grabbing Tweek's hand and lacing fingers.
"But…oh god, too much pressure!" the blonde squealed, his whole body shaking. "Doesn't this look weird?"
"Fuck you."
"What?"
Craig Tucker opened his eyes. He had jolted awake. Lying on his stomach, he faced the window in his bedroom. His heart was racing as he sat up in the mess of sheets. "What…the hell. Again?" he asked himself. He cleared his throat and rubbed his clammy hands together as he got up. He got ready for school trying not to think of the dream he'd had.
"Tweek, are you awake?" Tweek's dad asked, reading the newspaper as his son wondered into the kitchen.
"AGH! Yeah… actually I never fell asleep. I don't feel very good today…" he said, his left eye twitching a little as he spoke.
"All you need is a little fresh brewed coffee. Ground from only the freshest coffee beans in Cuba, it's the exotic taste and aroma of a crisp summer bonfire mixed with all the tang of a true American espresso machine." he handed his son a steaming mug.
"Th-thanks dad."
"Tweek, how's your black eye?" his mother asked.
"It hurts." Tweek said honestly, "But, I'm okay! Really!"
"Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor? Do you have scrapes or bruises anywhere? You know you could have bruised a rub or something, and that can cause serious damage to you internal organs if you don't take care of it."
"GAH! Pressure!"
The large yellow bus pulled up and honked loudly, probably because it was running late.
"Bus is here, you better get to school." his dad said casually.
Tweek groaned in anticipation of seeing Craig again. Ever since that fight he'd felt horrible, preventing him from getting a good night of sleep. He didn't want to confront the issue of having someone at school hate him, especially Craig. He knew he had to play it safe all day. He sat next to Butters on the bus; a safe move he felt good about. Then he felt someone flick the back of his head, penetrating even the messiest locks of his blonde hair.
"AGH!" he yelled immediately, curling into the fetal position. "They're coming for me – OH GOD!"
A mildly amused scoff came from behind him. "Crazy as ever, I see." Craig smirked.
"CRAIG?" Tweek yelled. He realized his voice was extremely loud, and shivered into the corner of his seat, "What—what do you want with me? I don't want to fight you again!"
For some reason, this pushed the onyx-haired boy out of shape. "Really?" he sneered, "Because I want to fight you."
"N…" Tweek began slowly, "n…no."
Craig paused for a while, staring the other boy down, completely ignoring Butters next to him, who had said 'Good morning' quite a few times by now. "Well then. It looks like I'll have to find some other ways of making your life miserable." he sat back down behind the two blonde's with a hateful glare. "Oh and…good morning Butters."
Wow. Tweek has a black eye. I have him a black eye. Craig thought in between classes, fiddling with his locker. I can't believe how scared he is now… This is awesome! He couldn't suppress an excited smile, gazing into the depths of his locker. He stood there basking in the thought of possibilities when he was snapped out of his trance.
"Hey Craig, are you going to fight Tweek again? He said some more stuff about your mom." Cartman said, Stan, Kenny and Kyle standing next to him.
Craig paused, suddenly unsure. "Uh, I dunno. I'm not sure if he's worth my energy."
"But you guys were so evenly matched!" Kyle pointed out. "That's why it was a good fight to begin with."
"Yeah man, you didn't even have a real conclusion." Kenny said, the bright orange parka muffling his words.
"I said I don't know!" Craig said impatiently.
"Whoa, asshole. We were just—"
Craig cut Cartman's retort off with his middle finger to their faces, and walked off to his next class.
As he sat in class, bored, his eyes glazed over in Tweek's direction. Everything was blurry he was hearing absolutely nothing the teacher was saying. A figure in the row ahead turned around to look at him, but he didn't care. The person looked like Tweek. His eyes snapped into focus. It was Tweek. Furthermore, the way he had been resting his head on his fist like that looked way too vulnerable for his liking. And sat up to quickly he almost slid out of his seat. And Tweek smiled at him—a really innocent, cute smile. Craig tried to glare at him to get him to stop, but he felt his face heat up, and all he could do was sit there looking embarrassed and purely dumb-founded. When Tweek turned around, his heart was racing in a way that wasn't a side-effect of all the coffee. He was shaking slightly and somehow, seeing Craig like that made him a little happier. It was as if he had a vulnerable side too.
The bell rang and the students filed out of the classroom. Craig made sure nothing got in his way as he made a bee-line for Tweek as he walked out. He ran up to him and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him into the bathroom.
"OH GOD, THEY'VE GOT ME!" Tweek screamed, "DON'T—"
"You idiot!" Craig said, his voice shaking with either anger or nervousness, or both.
"AHH! Craig? Cr—why?" Tweek asked suddenly, his eyes begging for honesty.
"Don't you know how bad you made me look back there! That was embarrassing you…you—are you stupid?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!—No one was looking I swear!" he said, changing his story, thinking it would get him out of trouble faster.
Craig held the front of Tweek's shirt and pinned him to the bathroom wall with force. "You're lying!"
"Oh god! Don't hurt me!"
Craig realized the only reason he was pinning this boy to the wall right now was that it made him feel better. That was selfish, and he knew that.
"Craig…?" Tweek asked slowly, flinching every few second from sheer panic. He felt he had reason to worry. Craig's eyes were doing that thing were they're not really focused on anything. It looked like he was thinking long and hard about something. Either that or his mind was completely blank for some reason. But for whatever reason, he could snap any minute, and then Tweek would be dead. Then Craig moved, and it made Tweek jolt. Craig leaned forward, and tilted his head, closing his eyes. Tweek couldn't believe it, Craig was really about to kiss him. And he thought getting beat up and made fun of was because he hated him. It was all a mistake though—this was like a dream.
"Ah…uh…" Craig stammered suddenly, stopping before their lips connected. He paused and clenched his jaw. He threw Tweek to the floor. "You…piece of shit." he came up with, though it was more of a mutter under his breath. Tweek heard it though, and it stung. "Just leave." Craig said strongly, his chin pointed towards the floor.
Tweek stumbled up, and shoved the door open without hesitation, although he was trembling harder than he could ever remember doing in a long time. That was the worst joke ever. How could Craig be so mean? He must have found out Tweek had a crush on him. By this time, the halls were empty and Tweek let his knees give way. Crumpled on the floor, tears ran down his cheeks and on to the floor.
Back in the boy's bathroom, all Craig could do was lean on the wall and try to not punch out the frustration.
Throughout the whole week, Craig bullied Tweek every day at school. 'Why?' Tweek would ask. The answer was 'Because I have dreams about you that are really gay.' but Craig would always say instead 'Stop looking at me like that!' Tweek had never been more discouraged in his life. He thought he'd kept his feelings hidden well enough, but somehow Craig must have found out. He knew he needed to talk to someone about this to get a second opinion, because if things kept going like he'd die from lack of sleep.
Meanwhile, Craig tried different methods of counseling. He wanted a girlfriend so he could stop having weird dreams, stop thinking about Tweek, and put everything behind him. He tried desperately to get Bebe to go out with him, but she liked someone else and turned him down.
"…What?"
"I said I like someone else, so no." he restated simply, as they stood facing each other in the halls.
"Who is it? What's so great about them?" he asked, wanting an answer that could improve his chances next time he asked a girl out.
"If you have to know, it's Clyde," she said, becoming a little shy, "and furthermore, I'd like to know the same thing. I mean, come on. You're the most available guy in school, why me?"
"Well…uh…was that a compliment?—but, I guess I like you because you, you have blonde hair and, uh, pretty eyes. Oh, your face is pretty. And, I guess your type…is, like, you don't take shit from people."
"I see…" she started, looking anywhere but Craig's eyes, "Well, actually I think you have bigger problems to tackle than my beautiful face and stand-offish attitude."
"What do you mean?" Craig asked, suddenly feeling nervous.
The blonde heaved a heavy sigh, "Okay, I didn't want to tell you this, because it's kind of confidential between us girls, the ones who found out first, but… someone like you. And, before I tell you who it is, I supposed I should also say it's part of the reason I said I wouldn't go out with you."
"Wh—wha—who?" he stuttered, curiosity brimming.
"It's…it's Tweek." she said anxiously, "So if you don't mind my advice, I think you should talk to him about it if you're going to turn him down—or accept him—whatever, I don't judge." she said quickly, walking off to lunch.
Craig stood there for a long time, letting the news sink in. Tweek liked him. In that way. It wouldn't sink it, but he knew the truth now. At least, he wanted to find out if it was true. But he had no idea who to talk to.
"Hu-hello?"
"GAH! B-Butters, I need your help." Tweek said, fidgeting with his hands.
"Oh, hi Tweek! What do you need?" the young boy asked cheerfully.
"Your help! I think…AGH!...I'm confused! Weren't you confused once?" Tweek asked, twitching a little.
"Confused you say? Oh, well gosh, I'm not too sure about that." Butters said, remembering the time his parents caught Cartman putting his penis in Butters' mouth and getting sent to a bi-
curious correctional facility where he saved his roommate from suicide. It was a crazy day.
"Come on! I haven't slept in two days!"
"Oh gee! Wuh-well I'll see if I can help. You wanna come in?" Tweek walking in without a word, and he and Butters went upstairs to talk privately. "So, Tweek—"
"I like Craig!" he blurted out. There was an awkward silence after that that Tweek broke after a few unbearable seconds. "At lease, I think."
"Are you…"
"…"
"Homosexual?"
Tweek was shaking a little from the caffeine, and when Butters said that last word a shiver of uncertainty ran down his spine. "AUGH! I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S THE PROBLEM!"
"Well, I think you should talk to Craig about it. I mean, what if he found out without you tellin' him?"
"Oh god!" Tweek held his knees as he sat at the edge of Butters' bed. "That's the problem though… I can't talk to him because he always, like, messes with me at school. I think he hates me, but I can't help that I like him!" he said, taking a deep breath and groaning.
"Uh-I didn't know he bullied you…"
"What to you know about—about liking another boy? ARGH!" Tweek asked, pulling on his hair at the thought.
"Well, I, uh, just went to a camp for it once. But that was a while ago, and all I learned was that it was normal."
"Oh Jesus! Is it? So, it goes away?"
"I guess if Craig hates you it'll have to, don't cha think?"
Tweek reflected on this, his tired eyes bouncing on and off the walls of Butters' room. He twitched, "Th-thank you! I mean, for your help and all. I'll—AGH!—think about it."
As Tweek walked home, the things Butters said kept rotating around in his head, and his chest hurt the more he thought about giving up on Craig. He felt weak and heavy. When he finally got home, he closed himself off in his room, door securely locked. If only Craig hadn't pretended he was going to kiss Tweek. That moment, he had been so startled and so happy, and then it was all torn away. If that hadn't happened, at least he could have lied to himself and said he didn't like Craig and get his feelings to go away. But he knew what he had felt, and was feeling, and it all pointed towards the onyx-haired boy with a 'fuck you' attitude. He was so cool. If only he wasn't so mean… Tweek picked up his iPod and put the headphones in. Lying face down, he selected a song he had downloaded under the promise its special brain-wave technology would put him to sleep. He made his mind stop going crazy with thoughts, and he woke up with the sunrise on his eyelids. It was 5:38am according to Tweek's bedside clock.
"Oh Jesus!" he screamed, realizing he hadn't done the homework assigned yesterday. In a panic, he got started right away.
"Craig, come downstairs already." the boy's father said impatiently, "Breakfast is on the table and I'm not going to leave you any bacon unless you—"
Said boy entered the room and cut his father off, "Relax dad, I'm up."
His dad gave him and unappreciative look, and raised his middle finger at the high school student across the table. Craig mirrored his father.
As soon as a plate of food was in front of him, he got lost on his own thoughts.
Why did I almost kiss Tweek yesterday?
How did he feel about it…?
Furthermore, why has he been putting up with my torture?
I didn't think he was that much of a wuss…
That kind of makes me want to kick his ass a little more.
I mean, stick up for yourself! Are you stupid?
Stupid… does he even own a hairbrush? It's ridiculous.
And, like, does he sleep or eat? He's too lanky.
Yeah. Definitely, for my tastes, he's too… everything.
Oh, and he's a dude. Dude, what am I thinking? That should be the first thing that's wrong.
Maybe I'll ask him today.
Maybe we could just talk about it or something.
I mean, he might not have even realized what I was going to do to him.
He is stupid, after all. You gotta make it more obvious.
Wait… what?
"Craig, the bus is here." his mother informed him, pulling him out of his trance.
"Right…"
As Tweek was finishing his essay, he had become extremely paranoid in his room. He kept hearing weird sounds, and could have sworn someone was looking at him from his window. He had run through every single explanation, and logically, the FBI was the only thing that made sense. They were watching him. They were going to kidnap him! Take him away, and no one would be any the wiser, because the FBI could do anything. Why they wanted Tweek was beyond him. He wasn't anything special, so why?
"OH JESUS CHRIST!" he yelled finally, unable to control himself. He was scared.
"Tweek, what's the matter?" asked his father, opening the door.
"Dad! They're coming for me! You-you have to believe me!" he said shakily.
"Oh, all you need is some coffee. Our signature—"
"Can I just…just take a thermos to school? I—Oh God—I shouldn't stay up here anyway! AGH!"
Just a short while later, the spiky haired blonde was bundled in a heavy jacket and scarf, thermos in hand, stepping on to the bus—but all the seats were filled. "Oh Jesus…" he mumbled when he saw there was a spot available next to Craig. In a split second, they awkwardly made eye contact. The boy in the blue hat edged closer to the window, and looked away.
Was that a social cue? Tweek thought hopefully, and made his way to sit down. He hesitated.
"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!"
"NNGGH." Tweek mumbled, tripping forward and falling into his seat. He sat there, on edge, trembling.
Kenny, who was sitting behind them with Cartman, leaned forward. "Hey Tweek, you look pretty on-guard today, something wrong?" he sniggered.
"Why are you so bundled up? It's pretty warm out today," Cartman noted, "Trying to hide your identity or something?"
"Y-yeah! AGH—they—I can't be sure, so…" he trailed off, his eyes seemed to look more alert today, Craig noticed, but the dark circles under them were as dark as ever.
"What, the FBI or something?" Cartman said sarcastically, taking much joy in teasing the boy.
"YOU KNEW? It's—oh God, it's a CONSPIRACY!" he screamed uncontrollably, hunching over and burying his face in his over-sized scarf. The boys laughed and left him alone. Craig just sat there, leaning against the window, taking in what happened. Tweek was more alert than usual, so what was wrong?
"Hey," Craig started, nudging the boy's arm.
"AUGH!—Ahh, I mean…oh God—Craig, I mean—hello. He-he-hell…o." the boy stammered, his face heating up from stammering so much.
"Listen," he said coolly, "I didn't do the homework for class today, do you think I could look at yours?" he asked, just testing.
"Uh, um, y-yeah. I-I guess, sure."
"What? Really?" he asked, in a much less distant tone.
"T-totally." Tweek managed, actually giving Craig a smile.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED OH GOD OH GOD, ALERT! ALERT! ALL SYSTEMS ON ALERT DON'T BE PHASED TWEEK IS STILL TWEEK NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Craig's mind screamed, not knowing how to react. "Oh…that's cool of you. Thanks."
OH JESUS CHRIST. CRAIG JUST THANKED ME AND I MANAGED TO ACT KIND OF NORMAL FOR A WHILE—I KNEW I LIKED HIM! DAMN! I KNOW I'M GONNA SCREW IT UP I JUST HAVE TO KEEP CALM. KEEP CALM AND…JUST. STOP. SHIVERING. "You're…w-welcome."
Both boys were rather flustered and couldn't do anything but stare in opposite directions the whole bus ride. When they got to school Tweek had to get up first since he sat in an aisle seat, and Craig found it difficult not to stare at his ass for those few seconds.
Craig was too wary of it all, and skipped lunch with Tweek. After all, he was bluffing about needing a last-minute essay, so no harm done. He avoided the blonde all day, didn't spit-wad him in class, didn't smack the bottom of his lunch tray and make him spill everything, didn't shove his books off his desk when he wasn't looking, didn't trip him in the hallway, or push him around at all. He didn't even make eye contact. He just couldn't.
When Craig finally got home, he felt numb. He was rejecting his feelings. He felt like things would just be a continuous loop, with nothing getting resolved. He would have to man up and make the first move. If he scared Tweek, big deal. He didn't care.
Tweek walked home that day, feeling alone and cold. If things continued like this he felt like he'd die from his heart falling to the pit of his stomach.
He couldn't fall asleep that night. He decided that the only way to get Craig out of his head was to distract all of his senses. So he turned on the radio, got on his Xbox live account and played Call of Duty, eating dinner in his room. It took care of things until the wee hours of the morning, when everyone else got offline and Tweek was alone.
"Ugh, Tweek, are you awake?" his father called from the hallway, "It's 2:30 in the morning!"
Tweek nervously didn't answer.
"Your light is on, don't try to hide it. Go to bed!"
The young blonde sighed, "I'm sorry!" and he, still connected to his TV, shut off the light, and the light from the screen was the only thing illuminating the room. He spent his whole night playing solo, after 4:00am switching to Halo 3. Over an hour later, the sun rose and he watched it do so, not even feeling tired. In 12 hours, he'd only been out of his room once—for a bathroom break.
Again, he had waited until the early morning to start his homework, but he felt better. After he went downstairs and got a cup of coffee, he headed back to his room to start answering questions about American History.
Meanwhile, Craig groggily opened his eyes for no reason. It was almost 5 in the morning, hours before his alarm was supposed to go off. The sun was beaming through his window, and he watched it climb over the horizon to light up the new day. He flipped the sun off and rolled over, but was unable to get back to sleep, or even find a comfortable position to rest it.
With no other options, he pulled himself out of bed and shuffled over to his desk. He wondered if Tweek was online. What a ridiculous thought. It was excusable though, it was far too early for any coherency.
The feeling of being awake was starting to hit his brain, so Craig decided to turn on his TV and watch the early news. He ran his fingers through his black, bed-head hair. He didn't want to sleep anyway, it was like the bed wouldn't let him be comfortable. Like it wanted him to be awake. Craig flipped his unmade bed off, just for the fact that he could be asleep if the mattress wasn't suddenly so uncomfortable. Then a positive thought struck his groggy mind: what if he just woke up because something awesome was going to happen today. In a weird way, he felt a little happy.
I…I must be really tired. He thought as that prospect simmered in his consciousness. He smiled nonetheless.
Tweek had finished his homework early, and rather than going downstairs for breakfast, he wanted to get more CoD in before school. He hadn't played in forever, and was reminded of how addictive it can become.
Craig's eyes were glazed, staring at the TV from the chair at his desk, pivoting with the push of his feet on the carpet.
SithTweek234 has signed on.
"What?" Craig said, surprising himself when he actually said it out loud. "I didn't even know my Xbox was on…" he muttered to himself. He thought for a second, then walked over and picked up the headset and controller. He sent him an invitation to join a Team Deathmatch session.
"I-I never thought you'd be on this early…" Tweek said into the microphone.
"Yeah, well… I am." Craig said, smiling when Tweek accepted his invite. "The god damn sun woke me up like a half hour ago."
"O-oh… you don't say."
"Yeah, I know, it's real interesting."
"I-I… watched the sunrise, if…if that counts."
"Oh you woke up even earlier?—Ah, damn, nice shot."
Tweek laughed a bit, "Th-thanks… and, a-actually I've been playing this and…uh, this and Halo all n-night… you know, except for, uh, homework. Just finished…that. Actually."
Craig consciously thought that laugh was the cutest thing he'd heard in a long time. Maybe ever, because he didn't really like cute things. "Uh…oh. What?"
"You died."
"Fuck that! That killstreak was pro, did you see me? Come on, you're not blind!" Craig said angrily.
Tweek laughed again, "N-no, yeah, I did—you're real-really good. AUGH! Dude behind you!"
"Ah shit—" Craig said, firing in defense but missing. Among the other people in the game having conversations or giving warnings, he was happy Tweek was still talking to him. He respawned, "Tweek, you wanna go knife only?"
"Jesus!" Tweek said at the suggestion, "…but, s-sure…it's a challenge… I guess."
Eventually they had to get off, and get ready for school. By the time the bus had picked them both up they were awake and alert. While today they sat apart from each other on the bus, there was considerably less tension between them. Craig felt accomplished, and overall pretty happy. Although, he hadn't gotten accustomed enough to show it on the outside.
Stan's locker was next to Tweek's, so when Tweek was switching his books at his locker he was often next to Stan. Craig had been talking to Stan and when he left Craig just stood there watching Tweek juggle books in his big jacket and scarf, trying to get them into his book bag. He sighed, trembling a little, and gave a small cough into the sleeve of his jacket.
Craig approached him. He smirked, "Tweek!" he said loudly.
"AUGH! JESUS CHRIST!" he screamed, collapsing to the floor much like the books he was holding.
Craig laughed. He almost walked off, but he looked at Tweek and the sight of him vulnerably on the floor in the middle of papers and books made Craig want to help him out.
Tweek realized it was his early morning Call of Duty buddy responsible, and he started gathering his papers without so much as a word against the onyx-haired boy.
"Hey," Craig said.
"OH GOD, WHY?" he yelled, hunching forward and lifting his arms to cover his head.
"I was just wondering if you wanted a hand up…"
"WHA—uh, wh..what?"
"Oh for Christ sake…" Craig picked up a couple of books while the shivering blonde hastily grabbed the loose papers from the floor and stood up. "Here." he said simply and began to walk off.
"Wh—wha—wait!" he said suddenly, but when he realized Craig had listened and in fact stayed to listen, he got flustered and felt his face begin to heat from embarrassment. "Well, I mean…oh Jesus…!"
"Didn't you hear the bell ring or are you deaf, too?" Craig asked with heavy sarcasm.
"Th-tha…nk…you." Tweek muttered into his scarf, closing his eyes tightly.
"What, for picking your books up? Shut up, it was my fault." Craig admitted, even though both of them knew that fact. He suddenly found it impossible to look Tweek in the face, and found the lockers on the other side of the hallway very interesting to stare at.
"C-Craig," Tweek said.
"Yeah." Craig replied without looking.
"Craig—" Tweek said, this time able to say it without stuttering.
"Yeah!" Craig said, facing him finally, not able to make a face that looked composed.
Tweek grabbed the front of Craig's jacket and pulled the two together. Lifting himself up on his tip-toes, his pressed their lips together in a shaky, soft kiss. Tweek lowered himself to stand flat-footed, and to his happiness Craig followed him those few inches down. Tweek broke them apart and took a deep breath.
"YOU-YOU'RE MY FAVORITE PERSON TO PLAY CALL OF DUTY WITH." Tweek said with his eyes closed as tight as they could be.
"I…" Craig started after a little while of silence. "don't really know… what to say."
Tweek looked up at him, "I—I—that's okay…if you would just stay up late with me sometimes…I-I'd be a lot les…l-lonely."
Craig made a cage for Tweek with his arms and the lockers behind the blonde. "I'm not satisfied with that. I want you to go out with me." he said, looking straight into the Tweek's nervous eyes.
"Y-ye-y-y—I'd…be happy to."
Mr. Garrison opened the door and shouted down the hallway, "WILL YOU TWO FAGS JUST GET IN CLASS, THERE'S A GOD DAMN TEST AND I WON'T STAND FOR YOU BEING LATE AND FLUNKING IT. THINK OF THE OTHER STUDENTS YOU INCOSIDERATE LOVERS!"
Craig and Tweek bother shuffled into class, flustered and blushing profusely, but neither of them could be unhappy or feel embarrassed.
Craig couldn't wait to "stay up late" with Tweek as soon as possible.