Tweek
Currently, Tweek was freaking out. As if he did anything else these days.
Why would they do that? Why would they say that? Why did he frown at me? OH GOD, IT'S TOO MUCH PRESSURE! Huddling up against the wall, careful to avoid the outlet in case he managed to electrocute himself, Tweek yanked at his hair. He could physically feel strands being tugged free from his scalp under the strain. It didn't matter, anything to calm himself down.
He hadn't even done anything to Stan or Kyle, why had they called him a troublemaker? Sure he was twitchy and irritating and loud but he tried not to be and besides, he'd never caused trouble for anyone else! It wasn't fair! Now the teacher was going to be watching him and that wasn't even the worst of it. The worst of it was what had happened after that.
Because then they'd decided to pick on Craig.
I'm going to die; he's actually going to kill me this time. Why did I have to meet his eyes? But okay, when they'd said Craig was the biggest troublemaker, Tweek hadn't been able to help himself. It had just been a quick look, just to see Craig's reaction. Except he hadn't even reacted, he'd just flipped the teacher off as usual then turned to Tweek.
Why did he always have to turn to him? Why did he have to look at Tweek as if Tweek was supposed to do something after what had happened? WHAT HAD HE EVER DONE TO DESERVE THIS?!
And then he frowned at me, he probably wants to kill me! He's gonna put my head through a saw and I'm going to die! He's going to poke out my eye with a screwdriver and then eat it and then throw me to the monsters under my bed. I'm going to be eaten!
Letting out a moan of terror, Tweek forced himself not to look up. Everything in him wanted to look up and see what was going on around him but he couldn't. He could just feel Craig staring at him, probably planning the best way to kill him. What had he ever done? He'd just looked at Craig, was that somehow wrong? It probably was and he just hadn't known it. But he'd caught Craig's eyes before and nothing had happened to him, why did it have to be this time that he displeased the dangerous boy?
Jerking his head up, as if expecting Craig to be hovering over him, Tweek's eyes widened in fear as he saw the Noirette glare menacingly down at the box of wood scraps he stood above. Shit! HE'S PLOTTING HOW BEST TO KILL ME! Realizing that his only hope was to defend himself, Tweek looked around frantically for something to defend himself with.
Like that's going to help, he'll kill me no matter what I do! Even flesh-eating aliens wouldn't be able to beat him! Desperately, he grabbed for the dangerous machine beside him and squeezed the grip, not realizing there was a button there. At once it leaped to life, growling at him like some beast from Tartarus. OH JESUS, FUCK! "ARRH!" He jumped and released the pressure sensitive leaver with shaking hands that threatened to drop the thing altogether.
"Hey, Tweek."
Leaping in the air in shock and fright, Tweek screeched and spun quickly to face the voice. He didn't want to deal with this but it didn't look like he was going to have a choice. Right there, standing before him, were Kyle and Stan, who both wore twin expressions of seriousness. SHIT WHAT DID I DO!? He didn't like Cartman's gang, even these two. They could be just as bad as Cartman, the only difference being they didn't always know they were being horrible. Twitching hard, Tweek took a step back away from them, wishing they wouldn't have gotten so close. Make it stop…
"Dude," Stan started, raising his eyebrows. "Craig chooses you." At the mention of that particular name, Tweek's eyes flew up to look across the room at Craig. The boy was staring at Cartman, an annoyed look on his face. "He wants to fight," Stan continued, his tone straightforward.
WAIT WHAT?! Dropping the sander, Tweek let out an involuntary sound of fear and dug his fingers into his hair. "HE DOES?!" No no no, this was too much pressure. Tweek had known that Craig was mad at him for some reason but why the hell did he want to fight? Why not just kill him outright? Why would he drag it out? Maybe he wants to publicly humiliate me… Tweek thought, fear clutching at his heart.
But wait, when had Stan and Kyle talked to him at all? Tweek had been glancing up at Craig every few seconds when he was sure the boy wasn't watching him and Stan and Kyle had been talking to Cartman a few minutes ago, not Craig. Besides, since when had Craig ever needed an intermediary between himself and whoever he'd decided he needed to fight? Tugging at his hair harder, Tweek whimpered. It doesn't make any sense!
Clueless as to what was running through his head, Stan nodded fervently and said, "Yeah, he's all pissed off at you." Looking up at Craig, Tweek squeaked and released his hair when he found the boy staring at him. NO! GOD, WHY?! He didn't actually look angry, he just looked mildly annoyed, but it all felt the same in Tweek's mind. Absolutely terrified, Tweek twitched hard. He didn't want to deal with this, he couldn't take it! Why was this even happening?
"So, will you fight?" Stan said suddenly.
So they weren't just warning him, no, they wanted him to fight Craig! Shaking his head, biting his lip to keep from screaming, Tweek squawked, "Why?" He wasn't strong, he wasn't made for fighting. He was just a spaz! If he tried to fight Craig, he'd be killed for sure. If he wasn't going to get killed already and the jury was still out on that one.
Rolling his eyes as if the answer was obvious, Kyle sighed. "Dude," he said, sounding exasperated. "Because you have to stand up for yourself!" Since when had Tweek ever stood up for himself? Who did they think he was? He still had a bruise on the side of his face because Cartman had pushed him into the lockers for Gods sakes! They had been there when it happened! He wasn't the kind of person to fight back, even if it meant getting hurt.
"So, will you fight him?" Kyle asked insistently as if there was something riding on his answer. OH GOD, PRESSURE! Looking up, he stared at Craig again but this time, the boy was glaring at Cartman, as if he wanted to hurt him. It was almost funny because of how much shorter than Craig Cartman really was. Are they sure he's pissed at me? I think he's upset with Cartman, not me.
Tweek almost wanted to smile, but he couldn't quite make his mouth move in that way.
Then, a horrifying thought occurred to him. Unless he's talking to Cartman about me? Jesus, what if he's planning with Cartman how best to kill me! That would be a nightmare, the two scariest people in the school, plotting to kill him, that was the worst! Except why would Craig want to kill him? Tweek hadn't even spoken to him! "Ngh- H-he doesn't look like he wants to fight me!" Tweek insisted to the other two boys, trying to reason the situation through in his own mind.
Glancing up again at Craig, Tweek saw him attempting to come at him before Cartman held him back. Oh god, maybe they're right. Maybe he does want to fight me! Then, as if to prove all of it to be true, the Noirette raised his middle finger to Tweek, anger clearly stamped into his features. All of that violence that Tweek had prayed would never be turned on him, now staring at him in the face.
In that moment, Tweek's mind sort of just short-circuited as some switch in his head flipped.
"There. Did you see?" Kyle asked, pointing. "He just flipped you off."
Tweek meanwhile, felt a bubbling sensation in his gut. Here was someone he'd done absolutely nothing to and now they were flipping him off and wanting to fight him. There was something about Craig's glare that filled Tweek with an emotion that he didn't often experience. Anger. No, he wasn't going to shake and hide, if Craig was going to be pissed then he was going to be mad right back. Fuck Craig Tucker, fuck him and his blue eyes and his glossy raven hair and his habit of staring at Tweek. Fuck him!
Face screwing up in anger, Tweek's neck jerked to the side and he growled. "GRH! What a jerk!" Did I really just say that about Craig? But he was! He was pissed at Tweek and the blond had done nothing to him at all. It wasn't fair. Tweek could handle being bullied; he could take being pushed around and laughed at but to have Craig Tucker, the one person who had never made fun of him, decide that he hated him, that was too much.
And it didn't even matter that he was going to get crushed. The least Tweek could do was not cower in fear. For once, he was going to stick up for himself. He was going to prove to Craig that just because the Noirette thought he was allowed to stare at Tweek all the time and scare him, that didn't mean Tweek was just going to roll over for him.
"He's really got it out for you, dude," Stan commented, whistling at the pissed off expression on Craig's face. Clenching his fists, Tweek shivered and glared back at Craig until Stan and Kyle closed back in around him, blocking off his view of the boy.
No longer able to see Craig's glare, Tweek felt some of that strength leave him, making room for uncertainty. "Why?" he demanded, spreading his arms out in confusion. When Stan and Kyle only looked at each other, Tweek practically begged, "What did I do!?" There had to be something but for the life of him, he couldn't think of it. If Craig wants a fight then I'll give it to him! But without Craig's anger beating down on him, Tweek felt powerless.
Oh god, he's going to kill me.
"So," Kyle said conversationally as if they'd been talking about the weather instead of Tweek's untimely demise. "Do you agree to fight him after school?" Oh shit, what am I supposed to say? He had to make up his mind, but he didn't want to. Craig would kill him, and he didn't even know why the boy wanted to kill him in the first place. He'd tower over Tweek and put his fist through the blonde's face. Will anyone even care that I'm dead?
So his only hope was to fight back, right? "I guess so," he answered, twitching and looking between Kyle and Stan in fear. It wasn't as if he had another way out. If he did, he couldn't see it and that scared him senseless. He didn't want to die, he didn't want to fight Craig.
But something had to give and he wasn't going to let it be him.
"Super!" Stan smiled as if this had been the right answer. God, why are they so happy about this!? "See you there." And without saying another word to him, they both walked away back to where Cartman was. Assholes, Tweek thought mutinously, unable to look up now they were gone. If he did, he'd see Craig and he didn't want to make eye contact again. It was just too terrifying to take.
So instead he curled back up against the wall and held his head in his hands as if that would make anything better. It didn't of course; it just increased the pressure in his head. It wasn't his fault, he hadn't done anything. This was all so stupid! What if Craig didn't even want to fight him, what if Cartman had been making things up about him and now Craig thought that Tweek hated him when he really didn't? They wouldn't do that, would they?
Then again, this was Cartman's gang they were talking about. If anyone was going to do something like that, it would be that group. So maybe Craig had the wrong idea and Tweek could reason with him that he'd never done anything to harm him. Do you really think you're going to be able to reason with a monster like that? God, he'd probably just drop dead from fright at this point. There was nothing that he could do, he was stuck.
For some reason, Tweek felt miserable. He really didn't want to fight Craig. Not just because the boy was terrifying, but because he'd always sort of admired Craig. The Noirette was everything Tweek would never be, calm, collected, uncaring about the world around him. He flipped off teachers in class and did what he wanted, no matter the consequences. He was even attractive!
Tweek was none of those things. He was twitchy and scared and small and helpless. He screamed in the middle of class and banged his head on the table when it all got to be too much. As if that wasn't enough, he was disgusting looking, what with his crazy hair and twitching features and pasty skin. He was worthless, Craig was practically perfect. It wasn't fair!
And yet he'd always thought that maybe someday Craig would stop staring at him and instead talk to him. Because that's what normal people did, right? Craig wasn't a weirdo like him so he'd do the normal thing and talk to Tweek instead of simply stare at him. He'd say hi and Tweek would be scared but Craig wouldn't care because Craig didn't care about anything. Then he'd ask the blond a question and Tweek would answer and then Craig would decide that Tweek was alright because he'd never bullied Tweek so he couldn't possibly hate him, right?
And even though Tweek usually worried that Craig wanted to kill him, deep down he knew that the Noirette probably wouldn't. Or at least, he hadn't wanted to before.
It was all so stupid but Tweek was pretty stupid so that made sense. It wasn't that he was desperate for a friend, but it would be nice to not be all alone all the time, vulnerable to Cartman and his friends, prey for whatever kid wanted to hurt him. Maybe if he had someone like Craig around, then he would be safer.
But Craig wants to fight me now and he's going to kill me. He'd never talk to him, he'd never get to have the opportunity to find out if Craig didn't want to kill him after all, he was going to never get another chance. It was all gone and it was probably Cartman's fault.
Suddenly, the bell rang, startling him out of his fearful wonderings. With a shriek, Tweek leaped to his feet and dashed out of the room, before Mr. Adler could even tell him to stop. He needed to get out of there. I have to fight Craig now, I have to fight him. Fearfully, Tweek stared at the playground and shook his head. I don't want this at all.
Yet, even so, he found himself walking forward like a man to the executioner's block. If he was going to die then he might as well get it over with. It made his stomach turn but what else was new. He'd probably be beaten within an inch of his life but what did that matter? It was bound to happen at some point, he couldn't get out of it.
Shivering, Tweek looked around frantically for Cartman and his friends but they were nowhere to be found. The teacher probably hasn't even dismissed them yet. As other kids streamed out of the school, Tweek just watched, wanting to leave but unsure what he was supposed to do. Looking at his feet, Tweek shuffled them. He didn't even know how to fight, what was he supposed to do?
Stand up to Craig and wait for death, that's what.
A hand touched his shoulder.
"AUGH! JESUS!" Leaping backward and spinning around, Tweek almost fainted right there and then. It was him, it was Craig. His brows were furrowed slightly, as if in concentration. He's gonna kill me, I'm gonna die. Shaking, Tweek took another step back, wanting to run but knowing he wouldn't get far. Why is he staring at my face like that, what's he thinking?!
Craig's hand moved and Tweek flinched backward, sure that a strike was following. Strangely enough, it didn't. The boy just pointed at the side of his face, that same look of thoughtfulness on his features. "That bruise," he said softly, in that unusually deep voice that Tweek could never seem to get out of his head. "The lockers, right?"
H-he's asking me where I got the bruise? Swallowing hard, Tweek forced himself to unfreeze so he could nod shakily. Under Craig's scrutiny, he could feel the mark throb. Isn't this the part where he hits me? Why isn't he trying to hurt me?
"Who pushed you?" Craig asked simply, letting his hand drop. Tweek felt especially small as the boy towered over him, intimidating and tall. How does he know I was pushed, he wasn't even there? Did someone tell him? But then wouldn't he know who'd done it? ACK I'M SO CONFUSED!
But Craig had asked him a question and Tweek didn't dare not answer. Especially when the Noirette was actually showing an emotion that wasn't anger or apathy. So he forced his uncooperative throat to open so he could speak. Twitching hard to one side, Tweek managed, "C-Cartman." The moment he'd said it, the air around them darkened.
Concentrated expression turning to a scowl, Craig looked away from Tweek. "I'm going home." Flipping Tweek off, the tall boy did just that. He walked away, leaving Tweek all alone to stare after him. Fuck, what the hell just happened? Am I dead? Am I still alive?
No, he was breathing. He'd survived, Tweek had survived. He hadn't had to fight Craig after all, he was fine. What was more, the boy hadn't seemed angry at him at all. He'd been angry about something, sure, and he'd asked some pretty weird questions, but that didn't matter. Tweek was still alive and that in and of itself was a miracle.
Watching other people start streaming out of the building, Tweek jumped. I've got to get out of here! If Cartman and his friends saw him, they might make him fight someone anyway. Without anyone around to help him, he'd be screwed. So instead of risking it, Tweek thanked whatever higher power had spared him and scrambled to leave, almost tripping over himself in the process.
Who knew, maybe Craig didn't hate him after all…