Stuck With Me

The final bell rang through the South Park High campus. Doors to classrooms opened, and kids poured into the halls by the hundreds. Among them was Tweek Tweak, a sophomore with unruly blond hair and an olive-green shirt with all the buttons in the wrong buttonholes. His body shook as he dodged the hordes of students thundering past him.

Getting from his last class to his locker always made Tweek nervous. If the threat of being trampled to death wasn't enough, Tweek had bullies to worry about. There were too many kids in his year alone who tormented him for being twitchy, nervous, and weird in general. So many that Tweek's best friend, Craig Tucker, began insisting on walking him to his locker after school.

But Craig wasn't there. Tweek scanned the halls as he tried to avoid the dense human traffic, his anxiety mounting with every passing minute. Craig was always there when class got out. Where was he? His head started to ache. Tweek had to get to his locker. His thermos of coffee was in his locker. He needed coffee to calm down after dealing with the pressures of school all day.

Unable to take it anymore, Tweek made a dash for his locker. He made it. Looking both ways, he made sure no one was targeting him before dialing in his locker combination at top speed. Tweek opened his locker, a feeling of relief spreading over him as he took out his thermos.

"Oi! Freak boy!"

"Gaah!" Tweek jumped before freezing on the spot. He knew that voice. When he turned around, he was unsurprised to see Eric Cartman lumbering toward him.

Cartman was still fat as ever, but had grown much taller than Tweek. Tweek, small and skinny as he was, knew he didn't stand a chance. All Cartman had to do was sit on him and he was dead.

A malicious grin spread over Cartman's flabby face as he loomed over Tweek. "Aww, how nice. Freak Freak got me some coffee." Cartman snatched Tweek's thermos before the shaking teen could even react. He held it over Tweek's head, laughing at his fruitless attempts to take it back. Tweek jumped as high as he could and almost grabbed the thermos, but Cartman shoved him to the ground, laughing all the while.

"Hey, fatass."

Frowning, Cartman turned to see who was interrupting his fun. Tweek took the opportunity to get back to his feet and see for himself.

It was Craig. Although lean and wiry, Craig matched Cartman for both height and strength. He glared at the fatass for all he was worth, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. Without saying another word, Craig stormed over and punched Cartman in the face. Tweek watched as Cartman sank to his knees, blood streaming from his lip. No sooner had the fat boy gone down than Mr. Mackey approached.

"Now what's going on here, mmkay?" Mr. Mackey glared at Craig, his arms folded.

Cartman started wailing for all he was worth. "Mr. Mackeeeeeeeeeey," he paused to sniffle several times. "C-Craig beat me up for no reason. He called me faaaaaaat."

"Bullshit, fatass." Craig snapped. He turned to Mr. Mackey. "He was picking on Tweek-"

"I've heard enough, mmkay?" Mr. Mackey shook his head. "I've told you more than once about fighting, Craig, mmkay? This is unacceptable. I'm calling your parents, mmkay?"

Craig gaped at him for a minute before his expression turned to outrage. "This is such bullshit," he muttered as he followed Mr. Mackey to his office. Cartman took the opportunity to scurry away, grinning evilly at Craig all the while.

Tweek didn't have a chance to say goodbye or even thank Craig before Mr. Mackey led him away. He sank to the floor as his best friend disappeared. The halls were mostly empty now, leaving Tweek alone with his thoughts. Craig had just gotten in trouble, big trouble, just to protect him.

Every time I'm falling down you take the repercussions

Headaches and anxiety advancing my frustrations

All the coffee left in his thermos wasn't enough to calm Tweek down after what had just happened. He felt terrible for getting Craig in trouble. It wasn't the first time, either. Most of the fights Craig got in, and pretty much all of the detentions he got, were because of someone mistreating Tweek in some way. It seemed unfair that Craig should have to put up with all that just because he, Tweek, couldn't defend himself. Sometimes he wondered why Craig was still friends with him.

Rush into my depression

Sacrifice everything

Waste with me into nothing

Well now you're stuck with me

Stuck with me

Stuck with me

Craig sighed. He was stuck in an empty classroom with nothing but the ticking clock for entertainment. Mr. Mackey hadn't been able to get a hold of his parents, so Craig was sitting an hour-long detention instead. It was one thing to be bored for a solid hour, but the worse punishment was being left with his thoughts.

He felt terrible for letting Cartman have a shot at Tweek. Craig knew he should have been there to walk Tweek to his locker. He should have known better than to get stuck in hall traffic behind a bunch of freshmen who didn't know their way. Knowing he'd let Tweek down was the worst feeling in the world.

Tweek had been his best friend since elementary school. Hell, since they started high school, Tweek was his only friend. There were other kids he knew and hung out with, sure, but no one he really talked to. Tweek was the only person he trusted, maybe the only person he'd ever trusted. The spastic blond meant so much to Craig. More than he cared to admit to himself.

And yet, alone with his thoughts in detention, Craig was forced to confront the reality that his feelings toward Tweek weren't entirely friendly. Ever since their freshmen year, his idle thoughts would form images of him and Tweek alone, their bodies entwined, their lips pressed together . . .

Stop it, Craig told himself. It wasn't going to happen. What would Tweek say if he knew his best friend had a crush on him? It would probably be way more pressure than the poor kid could handle. What if Tweek got scared and never spoke to him again? He couldn't risk losing the only friend he had.

I'll handcuff your soul to my wrist

And I'll vow my trust to you

Moving here I always thought

I'd realized you've imagined

Looking at the clock, Craig saw he still had another 45 minutes to go. He sighed again, throwing his head back in despair. As the minutes dragged by, Craig's only solace was the thought that Tweek was at home now, where no one would pick on him and call him a freak. It was all he could do not to lose himself in guilt, or fantasize about the two of them alone together. He just hoped Tweek would continue to put up with him as a friend.

Rush into my depression

Sacrifice everything

Waste with me into nothing

Well now you're stuck with me

Stuck with me

Stuck with me

When at long last the hour was up, Craig dragged himself out of the classroom, resigned to a cold walk home alone. He was surprised to find Tweek waiting for him in the hall, bearing a nervous smile and a blueberry muffin.

"Craig," the blond boy twitched several times, his hands shaking as he held the muffin out to his best friend. "I-I got this for you."

"Aww . . . thanks, Tweekers." Craig pulled him into a one-armed hug before accepting the muffin and devouring it on the spot. Tweek knew blueberry was his favorite. Craig felt a fresh surge of guilt. Even after Craig had let him down, his best friend waited up for him all that time to surprise him with his pastry of choice. What did he do to deserve Tweek?

Jittering, Tweek said "It was the l-least I could do. I'm sorry I-ngh-got you in trouble earlier." He looked ruefully at Craig. "Being friends with me seems like a lot of trouble."

Craig paused, struck by what he'd said. Was Tweek really worried that he would stop being friends with him? And then it dawned on him. Just as Tweek was his only friend, Craig was the only one Tweek had to depend on, to confide in. And like Craig, Tweek wondered why Craig stayed friends with him when no one else would. But Craig didn't have to wonder anymore. He knew. He looked and Tweek now and saw something in he'd never seen before.

Without hesitation, without thought, Craig moved in closer, until his face was only inches away from Tweek's. The last thing he saw was Tweek blushing heavily before he closed his eyes and brought his lips to the blonde's.

Tweek stiffened in his arms, but as the seconds went by, Craig felt him melt into the kiss, his arms wrapping around Craig's neck. Craig wrapped his arms around Tweek's waist as the kiss deepened, their bodies pressed together, their lips and tongues moving in synchrony.

When the two boys pulled apart, their eyes locked. Craig was glad to see Tweek's gaze as passionate as his own, his face just as flushed, and his grin just as wide.

"Come on," Craig offered his hand. "Let's get out of here."

As they walked hand-in-hand, Craig thanked his lucky stars that Tweek was so willing to put up with him as more than just a friend. In his elation, it didn't occur to him that Tweek was thinking the same thing.

Rush into my depression

Sacrifice everything

Waste with me into nothing

Well now you're stuck with me

Stuck with me

Stuck with me