School. If there was ever a Hell on Earth, it was school. It was boring, it dragged on forever, and it started way to early. These were the thoughts of most teens, but at the moment one boy felt more strongly about these things than anyone. He was waiting at the bus stop, bundled in a dark blue coat and jeans. An aviator cap of a matching color sat on his head. Black bangs poked out from under his hat, falling into dark eyes. He was 5'7" and had an average build. At the moment, his face was relaxed and showed how tired he was, instead of his normal angry expression.
Next to him stood two of his friends. The one closest to him was a little taller and chubbier than him. He wasn't fat by any means, just a little bigger than most of the kids his age. He wore a red jacket and blue jeans. His brown hair would occasionally fall into his chocolate colored eyes, but he pushed it away with a gloved hand.
The third teen in their group was taller than the other two, measuring up to about 6'3". His purple sweatshirt was tight enough to show off his muscles, which were a real treat to the girls in their school. His black hair had grown out since grade school and was done in long dreads. His dark brown eyes were focused on his red-clad companion. He was one of the few black kids in their school, but his group didn't care, especially because he was filthy rich.
"I wonder where Tweek is," said the boy with brown hair. "Do you know why he'd be late Craig?" The boy with the blue hat looked up lazily.
"No Clyde, I don't," Craig replied. He paused and smirked, thinking about the last member in their group. "Gnomes probably attacked him or something." He chuckled slightly at his statement, knowing that there was a possibility it might be true.
"That's not funny Craig," the black teen said seriously. "Tweek's always one of the first ones here because he's afraid he'll miss the bus." Clyde nodded at his statement.
"I agree with Token on this. He's never this late," the red clad boy said. His expression went from serious to worried. "You don't think he's sick or something, do you? I mean, he's never sick since he's a germaphobe and everything, but what if he is and it's bad?" The boy in blue rolled his eyes at his friend's words.
"Geez Clyde. Stop worrying so much," Craig said while readjusting his hat. "Just because he's not here doesn't mean that you have to act like –"
"Tweek!" Token yelled, cutting off the group's leader. Craig cleared his throat while glaring up at the taller teen.
"Yes Token. That's what I was going to say. Should I give you a cookie for guessing correctly?" he asked sarcastically. The black teen rolled his eyes in annoyance at the blue clad boy, but before he could say anything, the third member in their group spoke up.
"No Craig. He meant that he saw Tweek. See?" Clyde said, pointing. His dark eyes followed in the direction of the outstretched finger and landed on a familiar head of wild, yellow hair about a block away.
The group watched the figure move closer, realizing their friend's usual disheveled appearance was worse than normal. The bags under his aquamarine eyes were darker than they normally were. His green, long-sleeved shirt was buttoned incorrectly as always but half of the buttons were left undone, like he had given up halfway. The barely buttoned shirt revealed his pale skin and very skinny body. He was smaller than Craig in both height and build, only reaching 5'4" and barley weighing over 100 pounds. His whole body was shaking, as usual, but his friends noticed it was slower and jerkier than it normally was.
Once he reached the group, he fell face forward, Token barely catching him in time. The smaller boy was easy for him to pick up and place back on his feet. Clyde stepped forward quickly.
"Tweek! Are you okay, man? Say something," he half shouted, worried about his friend. Tweek looked up at him slowly, not at all like his usual self. Normally he'd panic if asked a question, twitching and screaming about it being 'too much pressure' while pulling at his hair. Instead he blinked his half-lidded eyes, staring blankly at the red clad boy in front of him.
"Huh?" the blonde asked, sounding more tired than Craig had. Clyde smacked himself in the head, muttering about his friend, before walking over to Craig, who was more alert by this time. He grabbed the dark blue sleeve of the other boy and dragged him over to the rest of their group.
"He listens to you," said the boy in red. "Tell him to snap out of it." Craig rolled his eyes at the brunette's behavior, but turned to face Tweek anyway. He wasn't willing to admit it, but he was worried about the way the blonde was acting.
"Hey Tweeks," the dark haired boy said softly, trying to get his friend to focus. "Is something wrong? You look like shit."
"Craig!" both Token and Clyde yelled, not expecting him to be so blunt with their blonde friend. Tweek's left eye twitched slightly at the question, then again at the shout.
"What?" the blue-clad boy asked harshly. "He does. Just try to deny it." The other two glanced at each other, a sheepish expression on both their faces. Clyde mumbled a soft 'Sorry Tweek' before Craig spoke up again. "See. You can't," the leader said triumphantly. He turned his focus back to the blonde. "So Tweekers, what's up?"
The blonde in front of him twitched, mumbling 'Need…coffee', before leaning on Token, his head a few inches below the black teen's shoulder. Clyde and Craig shared a worried look, both thinking about their friend's love/need for the caffeine-containing liquid. He always had at least half a pot before coming to school.
"What?" the black teen asked, trying to hold this friend up and see his face at the same time. Tweek twitched again before trying, and failing, to stand up on his own.
"Need…coffee… Machine…broken…," he mumbled into his friend's purple sleeve. His friends all stared at him, each wearing a different expression. Token was trying not to laugh, Clyde was pinching his nose in an agitated way, and Craig's eye twitched in a very Tweek-like way.
"That's it?" the boy in blue asked, trying to keep his voice level. The blonde nodded tiredly, aggravating the leader of their group even more. "You're not sick, you're not hurt, nothing bad happened to anyone you know, but you didn't have your morning coffee, right?" Tweek nodded again, aqua eyes focused on Craig. "Damn it Tweek! We were worried about you and it's just because you didn't get your normal dose of caffeine!" His rant was cut short by the bus pulling up. Craig readjusted his hat and grabbed his bag, flinging it onto one shoulder. Climbing the stairs to the bus, he turned his head and shouted playfully, "Get a life Tweekers," before going to find a seat.
Tweek made a tired pouty-face, yelling, "Life without coffee in not life at all," in an overly dramatic manner. Token and Clyde both chuckled at the blonde's response, helping him stumble onto the bus. The large yellow vehicle started moving towards the school when Craig's voice rang out, asking if they could stop by Harbucks on the way there.