Monday mornings were always a struggle for Tweek but not for the same reasons everyone else his age had. Sleeping in was a thing he had never experienced, seeing as he rarely slept at all. Rather, the struggle came from having to leave the sanity of the weekend behind and go to a building he hated filled with people who felt similarly about him. In all honesty, he would have dropped out long ago had it not been for his few friends and Craig.

He was rummaging around his room, searching for the last few things to pack but as soon as his phone dinged, the device was in his hand. Tweek smiled at the name glowing on screen. Sure, it was the same text every day, but it always made him smile. Sending back a quick "Morning", Tweek shuffled to his dresser, pulling out a rumpled shirt and jeans. Yanking on the outfit, he fumbled with the buttons as he trudged downstairs. His parents had left already to open the shop, meaning he didn't need to worry about running into them.

Entering the kitchen, he was glad to see a pot of coffee waiting for him, pouring it into a mug and gulping the still warm beverage down. Tweek slipped on his shoes, grabbed his backpack, and slung it over his shoulder as he opened the door to step out into the winter air. Cold never bothered the teen, for whatever reason. As long as he could remember he had never even owned a coat or a jacket. He crunched his way through the snow drifts, making his way towards the bus stop.


Monday mornings were a drag. Craig woke up way too early after staying up far too late the night before working on a project he didn't need to finish until the end of next month. But, when creativity hit, it hit, so the large amount of time he still had wasn't of importance. Craig groaned as he rolled around on his mattress for what had to be the eighth time in the past 30 minutes when his alarm finally went off.

He stared blankly at the ceiling for another minute before he got moving, stomping past Tricia's room with extra weight in his steps. He heard her hiss something through the door, since her bed was right next to it, but it was too muffled to understand. He smirked, continuing his way into the bathroom and locking the door.

Once he was out of the shower and back in his room, he grabbed his phone and texted Clyde to see if he was already awake, not feeling like waiting for him if he wasn't. Right after, he sent Tweek their usual "Good morning" text and got dressed.

By the time he was dressed, Tweek's reply was already flashing in his inbox. He typed a quick 'c u in 15' and went over to feed the guinea pigs in the cage at back of his room. He sat down and clicked his tongue, which turned out to be unnecessary since they had already heard him approach and were expectantly waiting for treats at the door. He gave some to them before refilling the hay and giving the newest Stripe some extra treats. Tricia's two guinea pigs protested as he closed the door again.

"Don't worry, she'll over feed you again anyways in like ten minutes," he muttered, unimpressed by the whistling and purring noises, Stripe #7 already moving to the new hay.

Craig was almost late when he got done with the guinea pigs and grabbed his lunch. He snatched his backpack from besides the sofa, put on his blue chullo and hurried outside, yelling a good-bye to whoever was awake enough to hear it. H tossed his jacket on as he made his way to the stop and only slowed his long stride when he spotted a familiar blond mess of hair. He caught up to Tweek shortly after, doing his best to look like he hadn't hurried. "Hey, Tweek."

Tweek, who'd seen him approach, flashed him a small smile, drumming his fingers against his leg nervously. "Hey, Craig. How you are you this morning?"

"Tired. I barely slept. Worked on a project half of the night. Are you doing all right?" Craig rubbed his eyes in hopes that the itching would go away, but all it got him was that his eyes felt even heavier.

The question got him a slight nod in response. "Which class?"

"Photography. We have this major collage thing we need to do. I'm super early actually. Almost done with it, too." He shifted his weight to his other foot so that he was leaning on Tweek slightly, brushing arms casually. He looked up to see if the bus was coming but saw only a few other kids waiting. Still no sight of Clyde. "Clyde's gonna be late again."

Tweek bit down on the inside of his cheek, his fingers tapping faster against his jeans. "Mhmm," he agreed, glancing the opposite way down the street. "Unless he's with Token or Jimmy."

"True." Craig focused on the rapidly tapping fingers before asking: "You didn't really answer. Are you okay, Tweek?"

"Yes." The response was forceful and hurried, accompanied immediately after with a soft grunt as he twitched hard enough to snap his neck to the side.

Craig lifted an eyebrow but didn't prod further, instead leaning more towards Tweek in case he wanted or needed something solid to support him. He didn't touch him though, letting him decide if he needed it.

Tweek let out a breath, a small white puff floating away from his face. Slowly, he leaned into him until their arms touched fully, glad the other always seemed to know what to do. His nervous drumming slowed to just a couple taps as his other hand came up to rub his arm absentmindedly.

Craig smiled faintly, when his phone lit up with a message from Token. "Clyde overslept again. Token, him, and Jimmy are catching a ride with Jimmy's mom," he shared as the sound of the bus approached in the distance. "That's not good. He's going to get detention if he keeps coming in late."

The bus slowed to a halt and the door opened, allowing the waiting group to climb on. Tweek and Craig made their way to their usual seat in the back, Tweek sliding in beside the window so Craig could have the aisle.

Craig sat as close to Tweek as the uncomfortable seat allowed, letting one leg hang in the aisle, and started combing through the things in his bag. He found what he was looking for and pulled out his bottle, filled with coffee, and the sandwich he had taken along when he had hurriedly left without breakfast. He silently held the bottle towards Tweek in case he wanted some, which he accepted gladly, twisting the lid off and taking a few sips before passing it back.

"You woke up late today, too?" he asked, watching him eat with a slight smile.

He attempted to answer but it didn't quite come out through his mouthful, so he swallowed before holding his hand in front of his mouth to talk. "No, I was up a while before my alarm. Kind of forgot the time while playing with Stripe, though." He pulled a face at himself, making Tweek laugh and himself smile, since Tweek's laugh was a rarity.

Tweek leaned against the cold metal wall behind him. "Stripe #7 is cute, but don't forget to take care of yourself, man. It'd be terrible if you got sick and died."

Craig snorted. "Don't worry about that. I have things to do, dying doesn't fit into my schedule," he replied. "Can't leave you or Stripe alone, either!" He bit back a joke about it in case it would worry Tweek and took another bite of his breakfast instead.

Tweek blushed lightly as he processed Craig's words. I can't leave you. Maybe he hadn't meant it so strongly, most likely it was just a joke, but it still warmed his heart.

"Good," he murmured, looking down at his hands in his lap. They were covered in colorful band aids, and he brushed his fingers along the smooth plastic coating as the movement of the bus jostled its riders about, not noticing that Craig was watching him out of the corner of his eyes as he took a swig from his coffee and finished his food.

"Anything planned for this afternoon?"

"I have to work, as usual," Tweek sighed. "Tonight it's going to be just me closing up. The one good thing about Mondays is not having to see my dad much." Tweek and his father had a rocky relationship at best, and the teen made no secret of his distaste for the man. He found him off-putting and more than a little creepy and did his best to interact with him as little as possible. "What about you?" he countered. "Going to finish that project?"

Craig stretched and yawned, then turned to actively focus on his friend. "I was actually hoping we could hang. I could come by the coffee shop and help you close, too, if you want. I need a few more shots to finish it, but maybe afterwards?"

He nodded quickly. "Yeah, that's fine by me. The shop is always pretty dead the last couple hours." Tweek worked hard to suppress his excitement at the idea of Craig hanging out at the shop with him. It was mind-numbingly boring when he was alone, but with the other he knew it would be a lot more enjoyable. "Cool."

Craig hadn't gone to the shop in quite some time, since he usually hung out at home or the mall with Token, Clyde, and Jimmy. He thought about what he was going to say next, wanting to tell him that he was excited, but not knowing how to phrase it without it sounding weird, and chose instead say, "I think Stripe misses you. She always seems to wait to see if you're there too when I feed the three of them. Blatant favoritism."

"Awe, guess I'll have to come over soon and see her," Tweek said with a teasing grin.

"You should."

"Maybe you could drop her off at the shop for a little while."

Craig thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, that's a good idea. I don't want her to be alone while you work, though, so I'll bring her when I come around." He searched his memory for the place of Stripe's travel bag before deciding to search for it later. "Do you still have those treats she likes so much?"

"Humph. What kind of uncle would I be if I didn't?" Tweek crossed his arms, pretending to pout. "I'm insulted."

"You're really more like a second father. She doesn't seem to miss Clyde as much and I think he fits the uncle type better anyways."

Tweek spluttered in surprise, his blush returning brightly. "Nngh, well, I guess I can accept that," he pushed out before biting down on his lip.

Craig tried not to keep staring, which was hard because Tweek looked nice with the red dusting his cheeks. He turned away again and tried to concentrate on the seat before him. "I bet Stripe will be happy you accept her as your daughter," he said.

"I guess we can celebrate with some yogurt chips," Tweek agreed.

Silence fell between them as the bus came to a stop in front of the school. The students quickly scrambled off and into the warm building, the sound of voices yelling and lockers squeaking quickly filling the air.

Thanks to their names, Tweek and Craig had lockers side by side, giving them a bit more time together before they went to their first classes. Craig opened his locker, pulling out his books. He took a two-pack of iced coffee from the small cooler he kept in his locker for that specific reason. While Craig himself usually wasn't fond of coffee at any other time than the early morning to help him wake up, he did have a weakness for this kind, it being way sweeter and cool.

Plus, he liked to keep things around Tweek enjoyed because he enjoyed seeing him smile, or needed to calm him down every now and then.

"I hope I can keep awake in robotics today. We have a test tomorrow." He stabbed the straw included in the coffee pack into the opening and took a sip, holding out the second pack for Tweek, who would never say, as the gesture was appreciated, but disliked the sweetness of iced coffee. He was used to drinking it black. However, he accepted the offer and drank it without hesitation.

"I'm sure you'll do alright," Tweek said, rustling around in his locker for a paper. "You're smart, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Craig nodded his thanks. The teen looked a bit better now than at the bus stop but he wanted to make sure. "Are you gonna be okay in history?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." In his mind, he added, 'since I'll see you next period anyway.'

The warning bell rang then, signaling to the mass of students to get to class. Craig breathed out and stared at the speakers in annoyance before patting Tweek's shoulder.

"See you next period, Tweek," he said, giving him a smile then walking off to class.


Tweek took his seat in the back corner of the classroom, flipping open his notebook and beginning to doodle in the margins. Just before the late bell rang, Clyde burst into the room, running to his seat and throwing himself into the desk.

The teen watched him in bemusement as Clyde dug through his bag for his notes and textbook, triumphantly pulling out a crumpled paper that was likely his homework.

"Heard you overslept again," he commented, making Clyde groan and slump down.

"It's not my fault Token's house is so comfy," he protested. "And it's his fault for having us stay up so late doing our project. If we had gone to bed at a normal time, I'd have been golden!"

The teacher, who had been watching him with an irritated expression for barging in, cleared his throat. "If you are done explaining your tragic morning, Mister Donovan, we can finally begin with the lesson, can we not?"

Clyde looked like he was about to imitate the last part of the sentence to mock him, but nodded instead, keeping his mouth shut.

"Thank you. Please open your books to page thirty-eight, we are going to go over your homework."


When Craig entered the classroom, Token was already in his seat. He waved and sat down next to him, ignoring the other, loudly blabbering teens around him.

"Have an okay morning?" Token asked as soon as he was set and Craig nodded.

"You didn't miss anything. Normal morning. I'll meet up with Tweek this evening to keep him company and help him close shop."

"Nice. We had a really stressful morning. Clyde slept at my place because we did our partner project yesterday and I swear, I wasn't able to wake him this morning."

Craig nodded. "He sleeps like the dead."

Token muttered his agreement. "You could probably wake the dead before him. Pretty sure he would sleep through an apocalypse."

"Imagine that. We'd have to carry him away from the zombies."

"Probably." Token sighed. "The entire town in panic, probably because Mephesto tried to give a human a butt as a face again or something, and it went all wrong. Zombies everywhere, biting people, people trying to kill them, everyone is screaming… And then there's Clyde, just sleeping and making those weird noises as usual."

Craig could practically hear Clyde's offended voice, saying: "I snore, Token! There's nothing weird about it!" except that it was, because his snores often sounded more like a dying badger's last cry for help than actual snoring. He shook his head with a snort.

The pair worked together for the entire period. The teacher had given them their task and the choice of working alone or in teams of two to three, then left to do whatever else it was he did at the school. The class didn't know, though to be fair, they didn't really care, either.

"What are you doing for photography?" Token asked after they finished.

"It's a collage about what we imagine our future to be like, but instead of using paper cut outs or articles, we're only allowed to use our own pictures."

"Sounds tough."

"It is. I don't know how I want my life to go. Or where. Maybe I'll become an astronaut and go to space."

Token hummed. "Do what you want with your life but I don't think Clyde will let you. You'd be gone for too long."

"Nah, I don't think I could, anyways. I love the stars, but I don't think it'd be the right job in the long run." They were quiet for a bit, staring at the pages they'd written so far.

"You could use that apocalypse scenario. For your project, you know?" Token suggested, making his friend laugh.

The teacher returned to collect their answers, then the bell rang, dismissing them. Craig hurried to get to biology since the rooms were a bit farther from each other.

He arrived on time and looked around for Tweek and Clyde, who shared the class with him, Token following him in slightly out of breath.

The two were waiting for him at their lab table, Clyde waving his arms around excitedly at his best friends as Tweek gave a much calmer nod in greeting. The seat beside him was open, as it always was for Craig.

When he sat, Tweek turned to him. "How was robotics? Feeling any better about that test?"

Craig fist bumped Clyde, smirking at his excitement, happy to see him himself. He sat down and nodded. "Token helped me out with some things."

"Happy to help," Token tacked on with a chuckle as he took the stool on Clyde's other side.

Craig bent down to get his book out, voice slightly muffled with half his head stuck in the bag, continuing to answer Tweek's question.. "Think I'm gonna nail it. How was history?" Locating his notebook, he grabbed it along with a pencil, setting them on the table beside his book.

"It was alright. At least this teacher doesn't sugar coat the past for us. He tells it like the horrible truth it is," Tweek said, lightly tapping his pencil against the edge of the desk. "We're going to have a unit test on Friday though. Not looking forward to that."

Clyde dropped his head onto the desk. "Guysss, I'm gonna fail and have to take the class again," he whined. "I hate history, I can never remember the billion dates they give us or keep all the names straight! Why is it all men too? Did cute girls not exist two hundred years ago or something?"

Craig rolled his eyes and shoved him lightly. "Ask Tweek for help if you can't do it alone. Or cheat. Also, women didn't have enough power or credit to fuck up as much as the men did." He thought about it for a second before continuing. "Google the guys you learned about, I bet there exists a gender swapped version of all of them somewhere on the internet if that helps you remember."

Clyde considered this for a moment. "I dunno, dude. Sounds like a slippery slope. I don't think I'm mentally prepared to see Washington with knockers flirty with a slutty Benjamin Franklin."

"Oh, my God, Clyde!" Token laughed.

Tweek snorted and covered his face with his hands as he began to giggle. Of all the things Clyde could have said, that wasn't what he had expected.

Craig looked over to Tweek, watching him giggle and feeling the weird mood he had had the entire morning lift completely, then grinned and flipped Clyde the bird.

"You're something, dude."

Clyde laughed, pushing his hand away. "Yeah, but I'm your best friend and you love me, so you know. You must think I'm cool on some level."

Class began soon after, the teacher coming and starting up their lecture. Unlike most classes, this one was actually fun. The teacher was a prankster and enjoyed telling jokes, making the period fly by. It was one of Craig's favorites, and it had the added bonus of sitting at the same table as three of his best friends, which was a lot more relaxing than with most would think, Clyde chiming in with a joke or dumb pun every now and then, Token teasing Clyde, and him and Tweek doodling on their papers together. If Tweek didn't take them, Craig usually did and kept them in a box in his desk. He wasn't hiding them, but he wasn't sure if Tweek knew he kept them either.

The end of the lesson approached fast and Craig looked at the clock to see there were only five minutes left. Math soon.

He brushed some eraser bits off the desk, brushing Tweek's hand and apologized for disturbing his sketching before he continued himself, drawing tiny stars around the rocket Tweek had made.

Tweek twitched slightly at the touch, but flashed him a smile to let him know it was all good. He loved the little drawings they made together, and often wondered what Craig did with them when he took them. He kept them in a stack in the drawer in his desk at home himself.

The bell rang and the sound of metal stools scraping the floor filled the room, making him shutter as the noise grated on his ears. Craig squeezed his shoulder, then started packing his things, watching Tweek out of the corner of his eye to make sure the noises didn't trigger any bigger reaction than the shuttering. He seemed alright, tossing his things into his bag through the movement. Once ready, he stood, waving goodbye as Clyde and Token left ahead of them.

"Onto math," Tweek said, playing up his sarcastic enthusiasm. "The subject I am the best at."

Craig pumped his fist into the air. "Hooray," he answered flatly before speeding up so they could walk to their respective classrooms together. Math wasn't his best subject, but he wasn't bad at it either. Some things just didn't make sense, but some did and those were easy. He had more problems with language.

Their classes were across the hall from one another, and on occasion, if they angled their desks just right, they could see each other through the thin windows in the doors.

Today was one of those occasions.

Craig waved at Tweek as soon as he had changed the desk's position, sitting down and giving him a thumbs up. The teacher usually didn't mind as long as Craig kept working and didn't disrupt the class, although she did throw him accusing glares every few days. Not that he cared. In elementary, he would have flipped her off, but nowadays he really didn't have time for detention and had realized in middle school that it was useful if you got some of your teachers to like you.

Tweek smiled back, then glanced at his teacher before scribbling on his paper. If he was braver, he would have maybe tried to write a note and hold it up but there was no guarantee Craig would be able to read it, or that they wouldn't get caught and be in trouble. If there was one thing Tweek refused to do, it was being the reason Craig got in trouble.

Craig listened to the teacher for a while, then started to tune her out. He knew how to solve the problems already, choosing instead to look out at Tweek, waiting for him to notice. When he did, Craig made sure his teacher wasn't looking and then made a "bluh bluh bluh" gesture with his hand while pulling faces.

Tweek grinned, quickly covering his face with his hand, his eyes darting towards where his teacher was standing. Her back was to him as she assisted another student with a problem, unaware of the tom-foolery going on behind her. Craig smiled fondly at the reaction.

He went back to his notes, drawing a simple rocket on an unused sheet. He looked at the clock, then at the teacher. He stared at the notes she was writing boredly, then motioned for Tweek to hold on.

He colored the rocket, cut it out as quietly as he could, then, after successfully swiping tape from a classmate, attached it to the window out of the teacher's line of site. It was green and blue, and Craig was proud of it.

The teen across the hall smiled at the little picture, then looked down at his notes. His eyes widened and he quickly scribbled over his writing in embarrassment. In his distracted state, he had been drawing tiny hearts with C + T in the center.

Craig snorted, assuming he had solved a problem the wrong way. It resulted in one of his classmates telling him, "Bless you," and Craig had a hard time not laughing loudly when he thanked them. He continued to scribble stars onto the paper after peeling it off the window, continuing his drawing until the bell ran.

Across the hall, Tweek lagged behind in his classroom, preferring to let the others fight one another to get out over getting an elbow to the sternum. He met up with Craig outside to walk the short way they had together to Craig's next class.

"Rest of math okay?" Craig asked.

Tweek nodded, twirling a pencil around his fingers. "Yeah. I feel like the teacher thinks the people in my class are dumb," he admitted. "But at least that makes it an easy A."

Craig watched his fingers, suddenly having the need to take Tweek's hand. He wasn't sure if it was so that he'd stop, or for other reasons he hadn't quite allowed himself to think about. The movement was fascinating though, so he kept watching, unconsciously stepping closer to Tweek instead.

"Lucky. But you're smart, so you wouldn't have many problems with the stuff anyways," he commented.

Tweek let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head. "Nah, I tested terribly, remember? Math and I are just no good together. You, on the other hand." The pencil came to a stop and Tweek tucked it into his pocket. "You're pretty good at it. I might need you to help me at some point."

"Yes." He answered immediately and a bit too fast, then caught himself, adding, "I'll help with whatever you don't understand. And yeah, I remember. Doesn't change that you're smart in general." He brushed his shoulder against Tweek's for a show of support and encouragement, but didn't move away after. Craig felt like he was itching for something but couldn't place what he wanted to do, so he just scratched his cheek for an outlet.

Tweek bit his lip at the contact, wondering vaguely to himself if Craig had a suspicion about his feelings and just liked to tease him. He couldn't bring himself to say anything however, too terrified of losing his closest friend. He didn't have many.

Craig noticed he was getting nervous and stepped away again. "Sorry. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Confused about the disappointment he was feeling, he started scratching his cheek again. They were almost at his classroom, and though Craig really loved physics, but he also wanted to keep talking.

Tweek slowed as they approached the door, clearly not wanting to leave either. With yet another sigh, he lightly and quickly patted Craig's arm, saying, "See you next period," before hurrying down the hall to his class.

Craig waved after him, then went to his seat, feeling even more confused. The beginning of class wasn't very relaxing. He was on edge for some reason and it showed when he snapped at a classmate who was a bit louder than usual. He tried to scribble on his notes, but nothing came out right and he was too restless to keep his hand still enough to create the right shapes. Not that his art was any good, stickmen and simple rockets the only things along with stars that he was able to draw, and the rockets were possible entirely due to Tweek showing him, but today, not even those worked.

He closed his eyes to figure out what was going on inside of him and after five minute of listening, breathing slowly, and talking himself down, he was almost back to normal.

From then on it was fun; the teacher let them experiment with electricity, different liquids, and complicated circuits, and Craig got so deep into his calculations and notes that he forgot completely about his weird feelings. Before he realized it, it was time for the next class.

Tweek was waiting for him outside the door, leaning against the wall and staring at his feet, lost in thought. He didn't hear everyone moving past him or see Craig exit.

Craig stopped in front of Tweek a few feet away so he wouldn't startle the teen. He cleared his throat softly and then a bit louder when that didn't get noticed.

This got his attention, making Tweek blink and look up. "Oh, you're out. Sorry." He tugged lightly on a lock of hair, then started down the hall towards their English class.

"You okay?" Craig asked, walking beside him.

"Yeah. I guess I got distracted. Uh... how was class?"

Craig frowned slightly in worry but Tweek wasn't twitching or yelping yet, so he figured he was being honest. He'd ask later. The question about physics got him excited, however, and he let his concern go to the back of his mind for the time being.

"It was so cool! We got to experiment for most of class with different stuff and then we had to come up with a new, innovative way to close and build a circuit. I took way too many notes and didn't have time to finish all the tests I wanted to run. Miller told us we could finish tomorrow though, so I hope I get the circuit running in more than one way. I think I could probably build it at home, but I don't know if I have all the necessary parts."

Tweek smiled, always loving to listen to Craig go on about his passions. It was nice to see him so excited and engaged.

Craig cleared his throat again when he noticed him smiling. "How was, uh, Latin?"

"It was kind of boring. I have a project to do that's going to take a while. Luckily it's not due until the end of the year," he answered, leading the way into their next classroom.

Craig followed, listening intently. "What do you have to do?" he asked as they moved to their usual seats and sat down. Clyde and Token were already there. The only one missing was Jimmy, with whom Craig shared his last two classes.

"We have to make a mosaic on a poster board using small bits of paper. It's going to take a really long time."

Token nodded, turning towards them. "We have to do that, too. I started already and it's exhausting. My fingers hurt just from the thought."

Craig pulled a face. "Glad I don't have Latin. I have enough detail work with photography already."

Tweek nodded, laying across his desk to think. What could he possibly do a mosaic of? He needed to pick something good, so he wouldn't end up hating it and throwing it away if he was going to put so much effort it. It would be a waste otherwise.

Craig laid his head onto his desk as well to watch him more easily. He really liked to watch Tweek think. It always showed on his face.

Tweek had his eyes closed, his eyelids twitching slightly as his eyes moved around under them with his thoughts. He looked peaceful, a rare sight for the stressed out teen.

Craig edged a bit closer without disturbing him. He could count his freckles from here. The longer he looked, the more he realized just how... pretty... Tweek was. Sure, he was a bit thin, probably from stress and coffee, and his eyebags were probably permanent, but it didn't change the fact that Tweek was attractive. It only made him seem older. Craig frowned at himself wondering if this was how others viewed him too. He kind of didn't want them to.

Token frowned at the two of them for a moment before giving Clyde a telling look.

Clyde returned it, glancing between the two. He shuffled closer to Token to whisper to him, "So, are they clueless or what?"

Token considered the pair a bit longer before whispering back, "I'm not sure about Tweek. Craig definitely is, otherwise he'd try to be less obvious." He smirked. "Just look at him, he can't be doing this on purpose."

Watching his best friend, Clyde rolled his eyes at him. "Even I'm not that bad, oh my God."

Suddenly, the door to the class slammed shut with a loud bang, and Tweek let out a surprised shriek, shooting up, his eyes wide.

Craig was on his feet the second the bang sounded, his chair falling back. He hadn't realized how concentrated he had been on Tweek until now. He glared at the person in the doorway a second later, flipping off the student who had been running late and nearly given him a heart attack.

The student mumbled an apology, looking sheepishly back at the students staring at him and scuttling to his seat.

Clyde pressed his hand to his chest, taking a deep breath to calm his pounding heart. "God. You guys okay?" he asked, looking at the three.

Craig took a deep breath before turning and joining Token in nodding, then glanced over at Tweek quickly. He was curled up in his seat, his head down and covered by his arms. Faintly, Craig could hear him counting slowly to himself to calm down as his body shook from the unexpected noise. Craig carefully leaned down so that he was at the same level.

"Tweek, I'm going to touch your shoulder now, okay? It's alright, nothing dangerous is happening," he said lowly.

Tweek didn't answer, but gave a tiny nod, allowing Craig to carefully put his hand on his shoulder and squeeze slightly. He next moved it to the spot between his shoulder blades, pressing down a bit to get his warmth through the shirt Tweek was wearing.

"What an asshole," he muttered as he stared at the seat the kid had taken. Everyone knew that Tweek was easily triggered into panic and that kid had been going to class with them for almost two years.

The pressure seemed to help, and soon Tweek's shaking stopped. Or at least, it dropped back to its normal level.

"Thanks, Craig," he whispered, staring down at his desk. Embarrassment filled him to the brim, making him feel like he was going to be sick.

Craig frowned unhappily. He hoped Tweek knew that it was okay that this happened. He gave him a half-smile, gently running his fingers along Tweek's spine, pressing down every now and then. He felt the tension drain from the teen, Tweek's shoulders relaxing from the light touch and gentle movement. "You better?" he asked, voice soft.

"Yeah," Tweek assured. "Sorry for freaking out, I'm okay. Thanks for helping me." Pink dusted his cheeks for the third time that day, a habit that seemed to be forming.

Craig smiled, interpreting the blush as embarrassment. He pulled his hand back a bit hesitantly, not actually wanting to let go, then stared at the table blankly and wondered when he had gotten so desperate for physical contact.

Tweek felt cold when Craig moved away. Usually, he liked his space and didn't enjoy being touched, but with Craig, as always, there was an exception.

Token watched them with irritation. "They're totally out of it. Man, I didn't know Craig could just slip into his own world like that." He looked at Clyde, then back at Craig who was still completely focused on Tweek.

"Yeah, dude," Clyde agreed, watching the pair. "It's almost creepy. I didn't know Craig could be so, you know, caring?"

Token nodded. "Very weird. I mean, he does care, but he usually shows it differently. Like when he threw those pills at your head and flipped you off when you had that cold, or starts talking about things he knows we enjoy when he notices one of us is upset." He wiggled his hand. "That is just weird to watch."

As the words left his mouth, Craig looked up to see Clyde and Token watching him and slowly raised one eyebrow.

Meeting his eyes, Clyde raised an eyebrow back, then looked pointedly between Tweek, who was staring at his desk, and Craig, his silent implication clear.

Craig frowned, looked at Tweek and back at Clyde, then slowly raised his hand and flipped him off, throwing a pointed look at Token to communicate that this was also meant for him.

"Annnd he's back," the latter commented.

That was the moment the teacher walked in and set down her books. She locked eyes with him as she said, "Mister Tucker I do not want those rude gestures in my classroom. Get caught again and there will be consequences."

Craig's face went neutral and he suppressed the mighty urge to roll his eyes.

They had a short staring contest before Craig shrugged and the boys settled down in their seats, allowing the longest class of the day to begin without any more disruptions.