I'm glad everyone liked the sappiness of the last chapter! I appreciate all the reviews! This chapter we're going to have more of the new girl interacting with Craig and Tweek. Let's see how well that goes over! Also, this chapter may or may not be more humorous. Depends on whether or not I put a certain scene in this chapter or a later one.
Chapter 4 - I Think It Might be Latin
Stan was relieved to see that Tweek seemed much calmer at lunch that afternoon than he had the previous week. Just one day back, and Craig already seemed to have brought Tweek back from the madness of his own mind. Stan and his friends were sitting with Craig and his friends, as Stan secretly wanted to make sure Tweek was all right. He decided to disguise this by talking about the research paper they were expected to do together.
"Hey Token," Cartman said to his research partner, "I know the perfect war we can do our paper on!"
"If you say the Civil War just because I'm black, I'm going to have Craig punch you in the face," Token warned him. Craig nodded with approval.
Cartman was silent for a few moments. "Darn it! It just slipped my mind!" he said falsely, "Totally forgot what it was! Oh well. We'll do whichever war you want to do."
"Butters wants to do the paper on World War II," Kyle decided to comment.
"Why, because you're Jewish?" Cartman asked, eagerly. Kyle glared at him.
"You know, Cartman, not everyone is a racist asshole like you are," he said, "He told me he wants to talk about blowing up Japan."
"Charming," Stan muttered. He turned to Tweek, who was silently mixing all his food together with his fork. "Which war do you want to do our paper on?" he asked.
Tweek jumped a little, startled at suddenly being addressed. "Gah! I don't know!" he stammered, "W-Whichever one you want, I guess."
Stan frowned slightly, and was about to say something else, but at that moment, Jess walked up to the table.
"Hello, everyone," she greeted sweetly, "Would it be all right if I sat with you guys?"
Receiving a perfect split of nodding and head shakes, Jess sat down anyway, choosing to sit in between Craig and Clyde. She didn't seem to notice Tweek take a hissing breath of fear. "So, what are we talking about?" she asked.
"We were discussing the research paper we have to do for History class," Token informed her. "None of us really know what we're going to do yet."
"Oh, yeah that," Jess giggled. She playfully nudged Craig in the side, who gave her a blank stare. "We haven't really discussed it yet, have we Craig?"
"I just met you today," Craig pointed out boredly.
Stan tried not to stare at Jess as she giggled lightly at Craig's statement. Was she attracted to him? She certainly seemed to be sitting very close to him, and Stan couldn't help but notice Tweek gently shaking beside him. But who would ever be attracted to Craig?
The group ate in relative silence, not really having much to talk about. Stan couldn't help but stare at Tweek as his eyes kept darting over to where Jess sat. He remembered what Tweek had said; that she was a monster. Maybe that meant Tweek saw her as a monster? Why didn't he think of that before? Perhaps that's why he was so frightened of her.
When the bell rung, signaling the end of lunch, Tweek quickly stood and gently laced his fingers with Craig's. They had history class next, so the whole group headed off to the classroom. Craig didn't seem to notice that Tweek had pulled him closer to himself and away from Jess as they walked. But Stan noticed.
"All right, class!" Miss Tory chirped when everybody had settled down, "We're going to begin our research papers today! I hope all of you discussed which war you were going to research over the weekend!"
The class all looked at each other. 90% of them had not even spoken to their partner since class ended on Friday. The teacher didn't seem to notice.
"Ok, let's head on down to the library so we can begin!" she instructed. The class moaned with annoyance, but obeyed.
When they got to the library, everyone split up into their pairs. Stan let Tweek go with Craig for a bit so he could grab a book about significant wars and revolutions that happened throughout history. It was really thick and heavy, and Stan felt his spine bending in ways it wasn't supposed to as he lugged it over to a table. When he put it down, the table bent under its weight. Panting, he opened up to the table of contents. Then he glanced around for Tweek.
Tweek was hovering near where Craig and Jess were; not really sitting with them, but still close enough so he could hear everything they were saying. Stan sighed. He hoped Tweek's fear of the new girl was unjustified. Especially since she would be working closely with Craig for the next few weeks. He understood wanting to protect a friend, but surely Jess wasn't actually as bad as a monster.
Stan walked over to Tweek and gently tapped him on the shoulder. Tweek startled violently, but let out a sigh when he saw who it was.
"Jesus Christ, don't sneak up on me like that," Tweek muttered.
"Sorry," Stan said, "I found a reference book we can use to get started on our paper."
Tweek cast a glance back at Craig and Jess, then turned back to Stan with a small look of worry on his face. "Ok," he said quietly.
They walked back to where Stan had left the book and found that Clyde and Kenny had joined them at the table.
"Can we borrow this book when you're done with it?" Kenny asked.
"Sure, if you can carry it without crushing yourself," Stan answered, sitting down. After looking through the long list of wars, Stan and Tweek decided to do their paper on the War of 1812, because it was easy to remember what year it took place. Then Kenny had Clyde carry the book back to their own table, with Clyde nearly breaking his own back under its weight.
As Stan started to look through a few American history books (which were thankfully much smaller than the war book), he noticed Tweek staring over at Craig and Jess. He didn't even sort of look invested in the paper, and was had an intense look on his face, like he was trying to overhear what they were saying. Stan sighed and closed the book he had been reading: The War of 1812: The British Version.
"Ok, Tweek," Stan said quietly so no one could over hear, "What's wrong? Why do you keep staring over at those two?"
Tweek jumped a little. "I-I'm not staring," he mumbled, lying pathetically. Stan sighed.
"Come on, Tweek," he argued, "I know Craig's your closest friend and you see Jess as a monster, but there's nothing to worry about. It's just your mind playing tricks on you."
Shuddering, Tweek closed his eyes. "Craig's not just my friend," he said quietly, "He's so much more to me."
"What do you mean?" Stan wondered.
Tweek looked around the room with wild eyes before looking back at Stan. "Can I tell you something?" he asked, "Something personal?"
"I wouldn't recommend it, no," Stan replied. Tweek blinked at him. He glanced down and suddenly looked to be at war with himself. "But, uh, I can keep your secret, Tweek," he added quickly, "You can trust me."
Tweek sighed and came to a decision. He leaned forward and spoke in his quietest voice. "I'm in love with Craig," he whispered.
Stan looked shocked. "Wait, really?" he asked. Tweek nodded. "But Craig told Kyle and me that you two weren't gay!"
"I know," Tweek's voice was very quiet, and had a hint of sadness. "And he wasn't really lying. Craig's not gay. I don't really know if I am, because Craig is the only person I've ever been in love with. I guess I've been attracted to girls before, but being with Craig is just so different. He gets me in ways no one else does. He can keep me calm without even trying. This relationship started out as fake, but it's grown real for me. And I know I can never tell him how I really feel, because he wouldn't want to be with me anymore."
Stan could feel his heart breaking just looking at how torn up Tweek looked. He looked so sad and defeated at the moment, Stan wished he could do something to cheer him up in some way. But he knew anything he could do would be pointless. Only Craig could bring any happiness to Tweek. He tried to think of something he could say to make him feel better, but it all sounded weak and feeble in his head.
"I'm sorry, Tweek," Stan murmured, "It must be hard to be in love with someone whom you can never tell."
"You have no idea," Tweek muttered.
"But, I do know one thing," Stan added, "I know he cares about you a great deal."
Tweek looked at him. "Really?" he asked, a speck of hope lighting his voice.
"Last week Kyle and I went to talk to him about you," Stan admitted, "He was really concerned when we told him about how you had been acting. He wanted us to watch you to make sure you were ok. He may not realize it, or he may deny it, but I know Craig really cares about you."
Tweek looked down at the table for a long quiet moment. Then he looked back up, and Stan thought he could see his eyes sparkling. "Thank you, Stan," he said, "For telling me. And for trying to cheer me up."
Stan smiled gently. "Any time," he replied.
Hope you liked this chapter! I have no idea why I titled it like I did. Anyway, the scene I was talking about previously is going to happen next chapter, and it's pretty silly, so look forward to that. Also, we're gonna learn something more about Jess. Whoo! Anyway, be sure to leave a review!