Author notes; An update, go me! XD Not much actually happens in this chapter, but I guess it was important to include for the whole 'progression of the story' THING. I dunno. I'll apologize now for any spelling/grammar errors, I DID check it through, but I'm pretty sick right now so I'm sure I missed something somewhere... Try and enjoy despite that small fact, though.
Chapter Three;
Saturday morning came all too quickly for Craig, although he was not sure what surprised him most on waking – the room or the fact that he was the only one in it. After a few minutes, pulling himself up to sit on his sofa bed with a yawn and rubbing his eyes in attempt to speed up the waking process, he decided it was probably neither; Not like he had never stayed over at Tweek's place before and not like the blonde was normally there when he woke up so really, he supposed the fact that he actually felt rested was more the surprise.
That and it was already almost ten.
"Shit," he muttered to himself on noticing this little fact, he had work today, in two hours, and where-as that left probably more than enough time to get ready and eat, he could not remember the last time he had slept past seven...
He decided he could ponder that more later, pulling himself up and stretching, letting out another yawn before turning to fold the blankets of his little, make-shift bed and then gathering up his clothes in order to change, Tweek making his way back into the room just in time to get a rather nice view of the brunette fussing with his top, the only other clothes covering him being his boxers and socks.
"Gah!" The blonde yelped at the sight, cheeks immediately lighting up and giving off a heat so warm he was surprised the other could not feel it, "Jesus! I'm s-sorry, Craig." He tried to apologize, Craig only continuing to fight with his long-sleeved t-shirt, finally getting it on and only a little amused at his best friend's actions, "W-want me to go?" The addressed teen simply shook his head, trying to relocate his jeans now.
"What? Kick you out your own room?" He asked, obvious amusement in his voice as well a grin on his lips as he pulled the jeans on and fastened them, "Don't be retarded." He added, apparently completely missing the point, and sure! Why wouldn't he?! HE wasn't the one with the stupid crush thanks to stupid Butters now, was he?! Tweek frowned inwardly at himself, trying to concentrate on being annoyed at his so-called blonde friend and NOT on how Craig's boxer hung kind of low on his hips, showing off the way they angled so perfectly a little too well... "What's up with you?" The brunette asked, snapping his friend back to the room and doing nothing to help the blush that still crowned his cheeks.
"N-nothing." He muttered, looking away awkwardly while Craig continued in his confusion. "M-mom asked if you wanted to skip breakfast and have an early lunch, since you gotta go to work and it's a little late..." he trailed off at that, sighing deeply; Butters really did have a hell of a lot to answer for...
"Sounds like a plan," he replied, nodding to his friend, "How come you let me sleep so late, anyway?" He asked, that frown returning just a little, generally curious about that, "You know I never sleep in this late, haven't for years." Tweek nodded himself now, forcing his gaze back over to his friend.
"That's precisely why," he informed him, opening his bedroom door again and taking a couple of steps out before stopping and waiting for Craig to join him, "I figured you could use the extra rest, sorry if that was wrong..." Craig cut him off there, indeed following him first out into the hallway and then on down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"What did I tell you about being retarded?" He asked, Tweek only blinking back, not sure what to say to that, "It's cool, kinda nice you thought to care, I guess." He shrugged, like such a thing was no big deal although in his mind they both knew it was and even as he spoke, he decided whatever this thing he planned to do for Tweek to show he was grateful, it would have to be good. "No one's really bothered how much sleep I get before." The blonde said nothing to that, just barely hid a smile at the words then silently berated himself for something so stupid while the two of them took seats at the kitchen table. Mrs. Tweak greeted their house-guest with a smile of her own, fussing about over what Craig wanted to eat while Tweek helped himself to his forth coffee of the day and watched from his chair.
It was nice, he decided, to have Craig here like this. Sure, he was still worried about his friend, past experience told him he probably always would be too, but there was something about the other actually letting him help him at all that made him unable not to wonder back once more to what he had been trying so desperately hard not to think about. That was odd too, how one seemingly innocent comment (well, maybe not 'innocent', but a single comment, non-the-less,) could change so much about just about everything.
Tweek had a rather unique mind; As much as he hated to think over certain subjects, he found he almost had a compulsion to try and understand and thus ended up thinking about them anyway, and in far more detail. He had spent a great deal of the night before trying to decide if he had ever had such thoughts about his best friend before Butters had said anything, but as far as he could remember, if he had, they he had buried them deep enough in his mind so that the information on just what he had felt and under what circumstances was almost impossible to retrieve. He almost wished he could know for sure, one way or another, if he had managed to bury something like that away so easily then doing so again should not be too hard and even if he could not this time for whatever reason, it would still be a very useful talent to have...
Then again, he could be wrong. About how he thought he felt and how he was starting to wonder if Craig felt too. It seemed both more likely and more impossible the more he thought about it, which had led him only to the conclusion that NOT thinking about it was probably the best course of action. He liked that idea too - Craig had been his first real friend and he was almost certain he would not have half of the other friends he had now if it had not been for him, not to mention so many bully-free years of school. He did not want to risk that. Even if it were Craig who came up to him and told him he did feel that way, he was not sure it would be worth the risk. And of course, if he was wrong – and he certainly had no plan in mind to find out one way or another – then that would almost completely under-mind everything he had been thinking about their friendship. It would mean that if Craig did not like him that way, and if Tweek was to be completely honest with himself he could not see why he would anyway, then he was simply trusting someone aside from himself for the first time and what was Tweek doing?
"I'm lying to his face." He muttered, the sound of his voice catching Craig's attention, although apparently not so he could actually make out what was said as he frowned at his friend, who had taken a long sip of his drink to try and cover up for the fact that he had spoken at all, from behind his own cup.
"What's going in that head of yours?" He asked, his words void of any tact, as was normally the case, "You've been acting weird ever since you came to get me for lunch." Tweek blinked at him, considered hiding behind his coffee cup again, but having only just then noticed his mother had left the room, decided to speak instead, whether he had any idea of what he was going to say really not entering his mind until he had already begun to say it.
"I-I have?" He asked, trying to sound genuinely surprised, although from the way Craig was watching him – a look that clearly said 'cut the crap' - Tweek found he was unable to ignore in its entirety, choosing to avert his eyes as tactfully as was possible and shrug, "Sorry, I'm just tiered, I guess. Didn't sleep so good last night, that's all." Which, for reasons he was still thinking over, was true. Far from having the desired effect of easing Craig's mind and taking them away from the subject though, the brunette's expression seemed to fall to one of concern, sparking the beginnings of a panic in Tweek as he tried to think of something more he could add to either explain or change the subject completely.
"Because I'm here?" Craig asked, sounding slightly less like himself, obviously not pleased with the idea that he had caused his friend some sort of trouble after agreeing so readily to his offer of a bed for the weekend. Tweek's eyes went wide as he shook his head, "You sure?" Was his next question, some relief present in his tone now, but still that concern showed in his eyes, "I can go if it's easier, really it's no big deal."
"Jesus, no!" He exclaimed, still shaking his head, "I wouldn't have asked you to stay if I didn't want you here, that would have been pretty stupid of me, don't you think?" He tried a reassuring smile but not sure if he managed and took a sip of his drink to cover up the fact. "I like having you here, it's nice waking up with you right there." The reactions to hearing those words out-loud, as true as they were, were instantaneous; Tweek's eyes went even wider still as panic crept through him, he gripped at his cup in a death-grip simply so he would not end up covering his traitor mouth with his hands and he only noticed he was holding his breath when the need to either breath or pass out hit him.
"What?" Craig asked, clearly confused now while a flustered Tweek tried to think of how exactly he could explain that little slip with little to no avail. A real fear beginning to grip him that whatever he said next could make or break pretty much everything and the fact that he had to make this decision under Craig's securitizing gaze not helping his tangled thoughts to organize themselves at all.
"I-I mean," he began at last, still not certain of what it was he was going to say, "Y-you know, night and s-stuff. It's dark, I-I don't sleep well, it's n-nice to w-wake up and see s-someone there, that's a-all." Again, he found himself holding his breath as he waited for whatever response that may earn him, almost collapsing in relief when Craig first nodded slowly, then grinned.
"Think I know what you mean." He admitted, standing to take his plate and leave it on the kitchen counter, as-per Mrs. Tweak's strict house rule of 'no guest should have to clean' before turning back to his friend, "You let me know if I'm bothering you though, yeah? It's good of you and your parents to let me stay, I don't wanna cause any problems, not to my best friend, hmm?" He grinned again at that and of course Tweek was powerless not to return the gesture, albeit briefly.
"S-sure Craig," He managed, grin becoming a smile as he spoke now as he willed his entire being to calm itself again, "Promise." That seemed to satisfy the slightly older teen for now, him simply nodding before checking his watch then rolling his eyes, Tweek's own gaze shifting to the clock mounted on the wall almost automatically; Eleven-fifteen. "You start work at midday, right?" He asked, glad for a subject change as Craig sat back down and drank the last of his drink.
"Yeah, should probably leave soon, the boss likes us to get there early for some stupid reason, I dunno." He shrugged. "You working today?" Tweek nodded, still sipping at his own drink, it was always a good idea to make slow-work of a drink when you were faced with the possibility of needing a distraction, he had found.
"Four 'til ten." He replied eventually, Craig taking in the information and thinking it over for a moment before speaking again.
"I finish at eight, should I come by and keep you company? Can walk you home then." He grinned, that grin that if it had been aimed at anyone else would have seemed cruel, but Tweek knew how to recognize a fake grin and a real one, "I know how you hate walking back in the dark all alone" Tweek scowled at his friend, not meaning it anymore than Craig had meant harm by his own comment, really just glad to have some sort of normality back.
"Talk like that and you can say goodbye to your free coffee and muffin, Asshole." He replied coolly, causing Craig to laugh his real, oh-so-rare laugh and in turn, Tweek to smile. "But yeah, come on by, it'll be pretty dead by then I guess." And truth be told, Tweek really would rather have someone else to walk back with and even as he sat and thought about it there and then, he could not think of anyone he would rather it be than Craig.
xox
For a Saturday, work at the video store had been slow. Not that Craig minded that, it gave him some extra time to get his homework out of the way and get paid for doing so into the bargain.
By the time seven-thirty rolled around, he had finished all but his English paper which he could not do anyway – the teacher had assigned them partners and he was paired with Wendy, the pair having agreed to work through lunches until the work got done – another thing Craig did not mind, he hardly ate at school anyway. In all honesty, he had been all too glad for a distraction during the past few dull hours, his mind seemed to keep defaulting back to the way Tweek had been acting all morning.
It was unlike him, in a way he could not quite out his finger on, which bothered him and made it even harder to look at subjectively. He had played through the events of that hour they had spent together before he had left for work over and over through-out his shift and had come up with nothing he could really explain. Just that his best friend clearly had something on his mind and that 'something' he did not want to talk to him about. The very idea of all the things that could mean made him scowl – why would he feel that way? What could there possibly be that he did not feel like he could talk to his best friend about? After all, Tweek knew things about Craig that not a single other soul could even guess at, was that not enough to prove he was trustworthy? That he would not laugh or joke or yell or do whatever the hell it was keeping him from just talking about it?!
"Don't get it..." He muttered, leaning forward on his stool behind the counter and resting his folded arms on it, moving to rest his head atop of those and letting out a sigh. He could always just ask Tweek when he got to Harbucks later, that had been another thought to have buzzed around his head for most of his shift, but ironically, he wondered if that was even true – could he simply ask when it was that obvious Tweek did not want to talk about whatever it was? That seemed a little rude, but also went against what he had been thinking – how they should be able to talk about anything – and so, he sighed again, barely looking up when he heard the back door open, knowing it was only Andy coming to in to take over from him when his shift finished. The guy was a bit of a jerk, if you asked Craig, but then again, he knew just how good at judging characters he was – the only person he had ever seemed to be right about had been Tweek, and... Quit worrying about that if you're not gonna do anything about it, Christ!
"Andy, hey." He greeted, finally pushing himself back to a proper sitting position with another, final (he hoped) sigh.
"Cramer, how's things?" Came his response as the other teen made his way in from out back, Craig just shrugged, not really up to talking at the best of time, let alone right now and to this guy.
"Been worse, man." He answered, making his own way out back to grab his coat and hat – he still have twenty minutes of his shift left, but what did that matter? He could hold a damn coat for that long without the world ending.
"Wow, quite an advertisement for the happy workers scheme, aren't you?" Andy joked. Craig grinned and flipped him off, he was not too bad a guy, he supposed. "You can go early if you want, I'll tell the boss you stayed, you look like you have way better places to be than here, anyway." The brunette was about to reply, when his cell-phone rang, he looked down at the screen and recognized his sister's number before putting the thing in his pocket – he could call her back after he left.
"You sure?" Andy nodded and waved a hand, taking over the seat Craig had previously been using, "Well cool, thanks." He paused for a moment, then reached into his other pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and taking two out, placing them on the counter, "Have a good night." He told the other teen who nodded, grinning his thanks for the smokes as Craig let himself out from behind the counter.
"You too, don't go causing too much trouble!" Craig waved his own hand at that, letting himself out and lighting his own smoke when he heard the door close behind him, pocketing his lighter and breathing in deeply.
"Heaven." He muttered, both hands making their ways to either jacket pocket now for warmth, and only when he felt the plastic of his cell did he remember he had to call his sister back. He rolled his eyes, retrieving the device and hitting 'redial missed call'. "Hey Munchkin, having a good weekend?" He asked on her answering the phone, knowing it was better not to give his sister a chance to speak first, he was likely to get an earful for not answering when she had called, otherwise.
"Oh, so you haven't forgotten all about me, then," she moaned, Craig rolling his eyes again and about to explain when she let him off the hook, answering the question he had asked, "But yeah, Emily's mom took us to Whistlin' Willies after our paper route, it was fun, she wouldn't let me pay though," a brief pause, "And I DID offer, before you yell at me." Craig chuckled at that, taping some ash into the snow before replacing the cigarette between his lips where it belonged.
"Am I really so bad?" He asked, but did not give her a chance to reply to that, "Just so long as you thanked Suze, I'm sure she was happy to do it."
"I did, I did" She told him, tiredly, "But what about you? You having a good time at Tweek's place?"
"Yeah, lots of fun," he replied, which was true – despite whatever the hell this whole 'thing' was, it had been a good weekend so far. "I'm just on my way to meet him at Harbucks, he's got another two hours left of his shift so I figured I'd go keep him company, give him someone to walk back with it." He paused himself there, he and his sister talked about most things, within reason, and so he did not feel weird about discussing his worries with her, he just wondered if there was any point in doing so. "He's be kinda weird though. Edgy, you know?" The line went quiet for a moment, Craig about to ask if she was still there when she spoke up again.
"Edgy?" She asked, clearly amused, "How can you tell?"
"Haha." He replied, tone complete deadpan, taking another long drag of his smoke, "I just can, okay? It's not his normal edginess anyway, it's like he's hiding something, it bothers me." Which was true, it did – he had told Tweek things no-one else knew, after all, the thought that the other could not trust him to do the same was more than a little painful, if he was prepared to be honest with himself.
"You two are so gay, keeping each other company, walking each other home..." She told him in a mater-a-factual tone, him about to ask just what that was supposed to mean when she let out a laugh, "Maybe that's it! Maybe he fancies you or something" The laugh became a chuckle down the phone at that, causing her brother to first scowl, about to tell her just what a stupid idea that was, when he remembered the state in which Tweek had caught him in that morning and how things seemed to have gone downhill from there. Then he remembered what he had said over the kitchen table 'I like waking up with you there'. He felt the blood drain from his face and his cigarette found its way to the ground where it hissed in the snow, forgotten. "Craig?" His sister asked, sounding a lot less amused this time, "You okay? I was just kidding!"
"Yeah well, it's not funny." He snapped, but no-where near as dangerously as he may have done, had he not been quite so floored by the picture emerging as his mind started to fit all these puzzle-pieces together.
"Jesus, fine!" She said back, her tone relieved, "You need to learn to take a joke a little better," she informed him, "And besides, you two would make a cute couple, Tweek's so sweet!" Craig sighed, getting over his shock a little now but still far from impressed at having to have this conversation.
"Yeah well, you date him, then." He told her, sulkily, this only causing more laughter from the red-head.
"Yeah, you'd kill me. Both of us, probably." He had to join in with her laughter at that, true without a second thought if it had been anyone else.
"No, Tweek's cool, I'd..." He was about to say he would trust him with her, when a thought hit him; Should he not be more bothered at the idea of his little sister dating anyone and not his best friend...? "Yeah, I'd probably kill you both." He finished instead, that pale feeling taking him over again. How stupid, getting so worked up of a silly joke made by your kid sister... "Gotta go Munchkin, I'll call you later, yeah?" He said, stopping outside Harbucks and looking in through the big, store window. Tweek was leaning over a table not too far away, cleaning it with some sort of cloth. Craig knocked on the window and waved, Tweek waving back and adding a smile.
"Sure, you and Tweek have fun on your date, now!" He hung up – there really was nothing he could think to say back to that.
"Hey Tweekers." He called, deciding it would be better to simply get inside and wing it than it would be to stand outside trying to get his thoughts straight after the blonde knew he was already there. "Busy night?" He asked, making his way over to the counter and taking a seat at one of the stools, Tweek offering him another small smile as he joined him from the opposite side of the counter, cloth now sticking out of the dark green apron he was wearing – something of a uniform, apparently.
"It was earlier, but not for the last hour or so." He motioned toward a single couple sitting opposite one-another in one of the booths by the window, "That's pretty much it, but it's better this way – not on my own, not crowded, you know?" Craig smiled back a little and nodded, he knew enough about the other teen (his current problem aside) to know that much. "You want somethin'?" He asked, Craig letting his eyes wander over what was still left after the day's trade. "Muffin?" The brunette snapped his gaze over to Tweek at that and blinked.
"What did you just say?" He asked slowly, getting a confused look from his friend.
"I asked would you like a muffin." He frowned over to his friend, concerned, "You alright? You seem kinda... pale. You're not sick, are you?" The brunette could not help but laugh at that – how stupid he was being! This whole thing, whatever else it might be, was completely ridiculous.
"Nono, I'm fine, don't worry." He plastered on the best smile he could manage, surprised how easy that was, all things considered, "What muffins you got left?" He asked, a slight change of subject, as well as the idea of food, seeming like a good idea. Tweek just spared him a look that clearly said he did not believe a word and would worry anyway, but played along, fetching the muffin basket and looking through it.
"Let's see," he muttered to himself as he picked the basket over, "There's chocolate with chocolate chips, raspberry with white chocolate chips, cherry with almonds, blueberry or..." He held up the last one and read the label, "Lemon and citrus." He looked up to Craig again for his choice, the other not seeming to be paying any attention what-so-ever and that only causing more concern for the blonde. "Craig!" He called, glad when the other blinked, at least he isn't dead...Yet. "Did you hear me, man?" Craig waved a hand at the other teen dismissively.
"Yeah yeah – cherry thanks." He replied. "And a hot chocolate? In the mood for something sweet, I think." Tweek nodded slowly and handed over the cherry muffin, placing the rest back in the basket before wondering off to fix his friend's drink. Craig waited until the blonde was out of view and then brought his head into contact with the counter. "Such an idiot." He muttered, making sure to speak quietly enough so that Tweek could not hear, staying with his forehead resting on the cold counter top with a cherry and almond muffin in one hand until he heard the machine that heated the milk turn off and knew the other would be on his way back soon, sitting up and taking a bite from the muffin as casually as he could.
"Here," the blonde stated, setting down the other's drink in front of him and pulling over the sugar and a plastic stirrer, watching for a moment as the brunette poured sugar into his cup as if it was not already far too sweet for the blonde's own tastes as it was. He smiled slightly. "Something sweet is right," he remarked, "You want some hot chocolate with your sugar, at all?" The smile died on his lips soon after, the lack of a reaction from his friend only going to remind him that he was not acting like his normal self and that, in turn, returning the previous concern. "Craig?" He asked, lifting a hand over to the other teen, meaning to rest it on one of his own at first, before being stricken by a thought; Maybe that was what this was all about? Maybe somehow Craig had worked it out, had seen through what he had been trying to hide and... He snapped his hand back again and sighed instead, "What's wrong?" He asked again, tone and voice quiet and that alone ensuring the other's attention.
"Nothing's wrong, I told you that." Craig repeated, with far less conviction than someone who was sure of his words should be. "Long day, that's all." Tweek nodded slowly.
"Okay..." He was far from convinced, though, the look on his face saying that much before he opened his mouth to speak. "It's just you've been really spaced out since you came in, I thought maybe something had happened or... Something." There was a slight tone of annoyance in his voice at that, there was something happening here and for whatever reason, Craig was refusing to say what. Ordinarily that would not be too unusual for the other teen, but after recent events it seemed off for a reason Tweek could not put his finger on.
"Me?" He asked, sounding almost amused, "You're the one who's been acting all..." He shook his head, "I don't even know, man! What was all that crap about this morning? You were edgy." Tweek blinked at that, was that simply it? Craig was worried about him because of the way he had acted earlier? That was all? "I thought we were friends, why can't you talk to me?" Suddenly, Tweek understood. Craig and his near obsession with trust issues. Him not telling the other what was wrong that morning. As unbelievable as most other people who knew the outwardly volatile teen would find it, Craig was hurt Tweek did not trust him enough to tell him whatever it was that had been bothering him. Simple as that.
"Craig..." He began, wanting to explain that there really as no reason for him to feel hurt, but stopping himself when he realized that he really could not tell him the real reason, not due to a lack of trust, a lack of courage, perhaps, but certainly not the other. "'M sorry about this morning, I-I didn't mean to worry or upset you, I guess I just didn't sleep too well, that's all, there really is nothing wrong and you know I would tell you if there was." He tried a smile then, Craig's sapphire eyes slightly narrowed to meet his own coffee-coloured orbs as he tried to gage if the blonde was being completely honest with him, "'S what friend do, yeah?" Craig continued to hold the other gaze for a moment, as if he were processing the information he had just received, before finally cracking a slight smile and bowing his head, shaking it a little as he looked now into the drink he held in both hands.
"Yeah man," He answered at last, looking back up to his friend again, the slight smile growing closer to a grin. "Don't worry about it, an eight hour shift running a dead video store gives you way too much time to think about stuff." 'And annoying younger siblings have a real knack for making you consider things you know aren't right – it's a bad combination', he added, silently. Tweek smiled too now, nodding along to the other's words.
"Know that feeling all too well," he said, leaning himself against the counter with a sigh, "Still, sorry though." This time, Craig simply waved off the words, so long as Tweek was alright now and he had put his mind to rest about that other little... Detail, he was content enough. It is, though? Something in his mind seemed to ask causing him to frown and wonder what on Earth that was supposed to mean. Oh, you know very well Craig flipped the whatever-it-was off mentally. Whatever thoughts might have crossed his mind while he considered the possibility of Tweek actually liking him needed to be gone now, needed to be forgotten and put to rest for good.
Simple as that.
Not like he liked the blonde that way anyway – it had been more of a consideration as to how he would deal with a situation where Tweek felt that way about him, not the other way around. And that did not matter now, did it? He was convinced of that much for now, whether he thought this new-found conviction was actually founded or not...
"Want a top up?" The blonde asked, pulling Craig from his thoughts again to see his friend holding the metal jug he used to make the hot chocolate up in and smiling the cute little shy-smile he used every now and again. You just thought cute, you know Craig forced his best smile.
"Sure man." He replied, pushing forward his half-empty cup, "Why not?"