"Hey. Hey Cartman?"

"What? I'm trying to eat my breakfast, asshole!" Cartman says angrily, while trying hard to hold his spoon of cereal up with handcuffs on. I seriously can't believe he still hasn't gotten used to it. I mean, even I have. And I'm not the type to get used to things easily.

"Can I see your phone?" I ask, eyeing his pocket, where the phone is. I wonder how he's managed to keep it hidden for so long. I even accidentally told the cop that he has a cell phone, so the nurses came and searched him and his cell, but couldn't find it. I don't wanna think about where he hid it. It's been two days since I was let out of that padded cell, and since that interrogation with the cop.

"Yeah, whatever." He struggles, but finally gets the phone out of his pocket and hands it to me from under the table, so that the nurse doesn't see. She's watching our table like a hawk, since both Cartman and I can cause a lot of trouble. Cartman and I have been watched very carefully since we were let out of those padded cells. Cartman was let out yesterday, so he was in there a day more than me. He's also got an extended three weeks here now, which makes me feel really guilty, because it's all my fault. Cartman didn't seem that mad though, when he received the news of it, which relieves me a bit. Part of me thinks he's not that mad because he actually likes it here. How weird is that? It's not possibleto like it here. Only for Bradley. Only for Bradley

I flip the cell phone open and look at the screen. I see a file named photos and open it. A big selection of pictures that Cartman had taken come up. I select one, revealing probably the whole class, except for Cartman.

"Who's who?" I show Cartman the picture. He sighs at the sight of the photo.

"Do I have to say everyone?"

"Uh huh. I really wanna know." I smile at him genuinely. I really do wanna know. I've never met a girl my age, and I'm curious to know who Craig's friends are. Plus, I've never really met normal normal kids. Cartman wavers and looks at the picture.

"Okay… well, first there's Timmy," Cartman points to a kid in a wheelchair. "He's not crazy, but he's mentally retarded. He's cool though."

"The girls are Red, Annie, Emily, Heidi, Wendy, Bebe, and Milly. They're all bitches, especially Wendy. Bebe can sometimes be ok, but I still don't like her much." I don't really listen at what Cartman's saying. I just stare at Milly, wanting to kill her. I know she and Craig aren't an item anymore, but that doesn't stop me from hating her. Cartman points to a blond kid who's smiling really happily.

"That's Butters."

"Butters?"

"His real name's Leopold, but we nicknamed him Butters 'cause Leopold's a retarded name. He's a wimp, but I'd be friends with him any day over Token or Clyde, who're both assholes, and Craig's friends. Plus, Token's black, so I automatically don't like him." Cartman points to a brown haired kid and a black kid. They look fairly normal to me. Cartman then point to another blond kid.

"That's Bradley Biggle."

"There's another Bradley?"

"Yeah. My friends and I never hang out with him though, since he's boring. He hangs out with the Star Wars freak, Kevin." Cartman points to a black haired kid next to Bradley.

"There's another Kevin too?" What the hell? I wonder if there's another Tweek there. Jeez.

"There's the Jew. You know him. Next to him is Pip. He's French, and a loser. I'm not even gonna bother to talk about him." Pip looks pretty nice. I can't understand why Cartman doesn't like him.

"And there's Stan and Kenny. And Craig. You obviously know them. The crippled kid's Jimmy. He's funny. I like him a lot, but recently, he's been hanging out with Token and Clyde, so I don't like him as much now. That's all of them. They're not really that interesting."

Wow. I've never seen so many normal looking kids. They look so… happy. They all have no idea how free they are. Well, thankfully, I'm pretty free now too. I still haven't used those keys 'Dad' gave me, but I'm planning on using them today. In fact, I'll tell Cartman about them, just to see his face.

"Hey Cartman?"

"What now?" Cartman asks tiredly, shoving his cell back in his pocket.

"Look at these." I pull the keys out of my pocket and show them to him. He looks like he's about to scream. Shit.

"WHA-

"Shut up! Shut up!" I hiss. I would've covered his mouth, but that isn't exactly easy with handcuffs.

"Why the hell do you have keys?"

"My Dad gave them to me. They're keys to my cell, and he's letting me go out whenever I want from 9.00am to 9.00pm. He said he wanted me to have more freedom." Cartman raises an eyebrow.

"Isn't your dad all the way in South Park? With the coffee shop?"

"No … he's dead. I'm adopted."

"But you just said your dad gave them to you…" I freeze as I realise I just casually called Mr Tucker my Dad.

"…It's nothing… just my adoptive father…" I say, feeling shocked. I'll never want to accept the fact that I'm Craig's brother, but Mr Tucker… he might not be that bad a Dad. He's nice, he cares about me (I know now that what Bradley said about doctors pretending to like you is absolute bull by now), and he's willing to get me out of here. And I'm able to see Craig a lot now.

Maybe… maybe I can accept him as my new father…


"Tweek." I ignore Bradley, lying on the bed with my back to him. I would go out, using my new keys, but I'm tired, and not in the mood. I'm in a really crap mood, so if I go out now, chances are that I'll do something dumb, in anger, and cause nothing but goddamn trouble.

"Tweek…" Bradley says threateningly.

"…What?" I ask bluntly, my back still turned to him. Part of me is happy he's finally talking to me, but the other part wants to beat the absolute shit out of him for being such an ass lately.

"Why isn't Craig visiting today?"

"… He needs to stay home today. His mom thinks he's been coming here too much lately, and she wants him to hang out with his other friends. He's coming tomorrow."

"Why weren't you at 'school' today? You stayed in your cell."

"I don't have to come anymore. Mr Tucker just gives me some homework twice a week now."

"Why?"

"I'm getting more privileges."

"And why's that?"

"…'Cause I'm Mr Tucker's adopted son now. I get special treatment. I even have keys to my cell."

"WHAT?"

"It's true. Look." I take the keys out of my pocket and hold them up, so he can clearly see them. Not only can Bradley see them, but all the patients can. I can literally feel the envy and jealously hitting me.

"Then why the hell are you in here?"

"Because I'm tired and don't feel like going out."

"Good for you. The outside's bad anyway."

"It's not as bad as you think, Bradley. There are a lot of amazing things out there…" I say, thinking about the picture of Cartman, Stan, Kenny, Craig, and Kyle's class.

"…Tweek, you're being deceived. Those outsiders don't care about you, they're just gaining your trust to-

I snap.

"YOU SHUT UP! You don't know anything about them! You've never even really been outside, and yet you judge everything about it, and the people in it! Have you forgotten you'reoriginally from the outside?"

"I'M NOT FROM THAT HELLHOLE!"

"SO YOU'D RATHER STAY IN THIS NIGHTMARE THAN GO OUTSIDE?"

"NO! I'D RATHER DIE THAN LIVE IN EITHER! WHY ELSE DO YOU THINK I'M SUICIDAL!"

"YOU ONLY HATE THE OUTSIDE IS BECAUSE YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE'S BAD!"

"THEY ARE BAD!"

"THE ONLY FUCKING REASON YOU THNK EVERYONE'S BAD IS BECAUSE SOME GUY MURDERED YOUR PARENTS IN FRONT OF YOU!"

I gasp and cover my mouth, immediately regretting what I just said. Bradley's past… is something you just don't talk about here, just like blaming another patient for your insanity. You just don't do it. When he was six… some killer broke into his house, and killed his parents in front of him, very brutally. Bradley's mind, according to doctors' perspective, was damaged by the sight permanently. They never thought it would drive him to think that everyone's a murderer though. He started getting suicidal, so they immediately put him in here. He lost trust of the outside, and believed every patient here was a good person, and started teaching kids how 'bad' the outside was. I was one of them, but I was lucky enough to learn what he said was absolute bullshit. The other kids are still convinced that the outside's evil, and have given up on getting out of here. That's one of the sad things about this institute.

"…I hate you, Tweek Tweak. You've betrayed us all. You're one of them. We all hate you." I look around. The majority of kids are looking at me that way, the same way that nurses and strangers look at me, which makes my confidence in arguing with Bradley disappear. My anxiety is starting to kick in. Crap, I might have a breakdown.

"Bra… Bradley… that's a little harsh. It's not his fault he likes people from the outside… and that they like him." Thomas says quietly, in my defence.

"You be quiet, Thomas, if you know what's good for you." Bradley snaps at him. Thomas glares and takes a step back from Bradley. I can see Cartman and Kevin glaring at Bradley too. There's a lot of tension in the air right now.

"Hey fatass! What's up?" All of us turn to the main door, to see Cartman's friends and another new kid walking in. I think his name was Butters? Yeah, Butters.

"Nothing, Stan!" Cartman sighs and sits down. All the other kids stare at the visitors. Even though most of them don't trust and hate people from the outside, they can't help but be interested. Especially the little kids.

"Why're you dicks here?"

"Well, it's our day off, so we figured we'd come visit. And Butters wanted to meet Tweek. Here he is Butters, the one and only." Kenny grabs Butters and leads him to the front of my cell. Butters looks exactly the same as in the photo.

"Well, hey Tweek! I've really wanted to meet you, since Craig never stops talking about you."

"…H-He d-d-doesn't?" Oh God. My stuttering's returned. I think it's because of what Bradley said about all of them hating me. Way to make my life crap, just when it's getting better.

"No, he really likes you! I understand why! You seem really cool, judging by the look of you!"

"Really?" I look myself up and down. I don't seem to look anything special.

"Yeah! Wow, this hospital sure is big."

"… I guess. I never really have a chance to walk around." This kid… is too cheerful.

"Until now." Bradley says, not looking up from his book. Butters stares at Bradley.

"Who's that?"

"That's Bradley. Go say hi, you might actually make him nicer." I was being sarcastic, but Butters is going over to Bradley's cell already. How naïve.

"Hey Bradley! Wow, your room's really clean." Bradley looks up and glares.

"Get away from me, you…" Bradley trails off when he sees Butters.

"What was that?" Butters smiles innocently. Jeez, I've never seen someone so happy.

"…Nothing. J-Just leave me alone…" My God. I never thought something like that could happen. Butters blinks confusingly and moves to stand next to Kenny.

Son of a bitch. Judging by the heavy blush on his face, Bradley's got an instant crush on Butters.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


"Ok, Tweek. We're done for today." I sigh in relief at the news of 'Dad' and I's session finally being over. It's too much effort to talk for an hour. Especially since I'm still freaked out from the result of me snapping at Bradley yesterday. I like him better these days, but I know I'll never like these sessions, even though 'Dad' has the right to know my private thoughts, now that he's adopted me.

"C-Craig's h-h-here today, r-right?" 'Dad' looks at me sympathetically because my stuttering's returned.

"Yeah, he just arrived a few minutes ago, I think. You do know the date today, right?"

"…I-It's August 18th, r-right?" 'Dad' nods, and looks at me in a weird way.

"Yeah… it is."

"…"

"…"

"…Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"… Am I meant to … call you 'Dad' and your wife 'Mom'?" Mr Tucker stiffens.

"… I would actually prefer if you called me 'Dad', to be honest."

"Why are you so determined to make me your son?"

"Because you are like a son to me, Tweek."

"… Alright. I guess I'll call you that then…" The door opens, making us both turn. Craig walks in casually, looking slightly tired.

"Hey Tweek."

"H-H-Hey." Craig stops walking in mid step. He stands staring at me for a few seconds, like he'd just seen a ghost, then turns to Dad.

"Why… WHY THE HELL'S HE STUTTERING?" Craig asks frantically.

"One of the boys said something very hurtful to him, so his anxiety kicked in and made him start stuttering again." Craig walks over and holds his hand out hesitantly, then pats my shoulder. I'm a little disappointed that it was a pat on the shoulder and not a make out session. Tch, yeah right, in my dreams.

"Hey, hey, you still haven't gone outside yet, right? Let's go!" Craig grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room. He pulls me all the way to the elevator. Many nurses stop and stare as we pass by. It feels weird to be outside without a nurse and without being stopped by staff. And that I have no handcuffs. Craig pushes the button to go on the elevator. It opens immediately, which is pretty awesome. Craig shoves me in and presses the ground floor button. When the doors close, he turns to me, grabs my shoulders, and looks at me seriously. Nice.

"Who said what to you?"

"W-Why does i-it m-m-matter so m-much Craig?" Craig slumps his shoulders and looks down, seeming confused, as is he doesn't know the answer himself.

"…Just tell me, Tweek."

"… It was Bradley. You know him right?"

"Vaguely. What did he say?"

"… He … H-He was u-u-upset that I-I'm getting s-so close to y-you a-and … Dad…"

"What did he say, Tweek?" Craig asks, wanting to know really badly.

"N-Nothing really… h-he just said h-he hates m-m-me. And s-so do all t-t-the other k-kids…" Craig stiffens and stares at the wall, in an angry-looking daze.

"A-Are you a-alright, Craig?" He doesn't answer. He keeps glaring at the wall. I grab his shoulder and shake him. He still doesn't respond. Man, is he alright?

"C-Craig!" Still nothing.

"CRAIG!" I yell angrily, shaking him as hard as I can. He stays still. Is he ignoring me? No, it's not that. There's something wrong with him…

"I'm sorry it had to come to this…" I say quietly, raising my hand. I slap Craig as hard as I can on the face. So hard that he falls on the floor of the elevator. He snapped out of his trance, at least.

"WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED? What…?" Craig looks around hysterically, then up to me.

"…Did you just hit me, Tweek?" I nod nervously, afraid that he's gonna get mad at me. He does seem a little annoyed, but not mad.

The elevator finally arrives at the ground floor. Craig steps out silently, and starts walking towards the main door to the hospital, leaving me behind. I quickly regain my senses and run after him, trying to catch up. I give the two kind ladies a wave as I pass by the front desk, who wave back, smiling. I smirk because I realise Dad forgot to handcuff me. I'm glad no one's noticed. I stop when we get to the door, suddenly nervous to go out. I haven't been outdoors in a year. I don't want to be excited, then walk out and be disappointed. I can see the snow. I've totally forgotten what it feels like. Craig steps away from the door, next to me.

"What's wrong?" He asks in his monotone voice. I shake nervously, much more than usual.

"N-Nothing… I j-just haven't b-been out in a w-while…" I take a deep breath and try to calm down, trying to convince myself to go out.

"Ok, l-let's go!"

"Are you sure?"

"L-Let's just d-d-do it!" I grab Craig's arm and pull him with me out the door. The coldness hits me like a brick. I don't remember it being this cold last year. Craig laughs at my reaction to the temperature, which makes me sort of glad, now that's he's in a happier mood. I walk around in the snow for a few seconds, feeling like running around like a little kid. Of course, I won't. Not in front of Craig, at least. I take a few steps backwards and stare the hospital.

Wow. I didn't know it was that big. Now I understand what Butters meant earlier.

"You like it out here, Tweek?" Craig asks, smiling at how happy I am to be outside.

"Y-Yeah. It's m-much better th-than in there."

"But it's freezing."

"S-So? It's snowy, s-so who cares?" I fling snow around childishly, smiling.

"Hey, wanna see the cell room from the outside?" I nod. Craig starts walking to the side of the hospital. I follow him, being careful not to stray too far from the edge of the building, or else the security will come and confiscate my keys, as well as punish me for purposely going out without handcuffs on. I glare at the device clipped onto my shirt. If only it isn't here. As we're walking, I notice how tired Craig looks.

"Y-You look t-t-tired, Craig…" Craig turns his head to me and smiles weakly.

"I… I haven't been getting much sleep lately, that's all."

"W-Why not?"

"…I just can't fall asleep. I'm distracted by… stuff…" Craig looks at the ground. His cheeks are red from the cold. I think it's from the cold.

"By what?" I say, too curious to even stutter. Craig waves his hand around.

"It's nothing, really. I just think too much, that's all."

"W-Well, you n-n-need to sleep…"

"… I'm thinking about asking my… our dad to get me sleeping pills." I slowly nod, cringing at the thought of swallowing pills just to get to sleep. I'd much rather take a shot, any day. Craig suddenly stops walking, making me stop too.

"There it is." Craig points up. I look above me.

"I-Is that it? O-On the f-f-fourth floor?"

"Yeah. Watch this." Craig grabs and handful of snow and quickly moulds it into a ball. I shriek in shock as he throws it towards the outside of the cell room, as hard as he can. It makes a huge thump against the … whatever the hospital's made of. I barely hear a scream inside, probably by some kid that got a scare from the thump of the snowball.

"A-ARE YOU CRAZY, C-C-CRAIG?" I scream.

"Hey, they said they hated you, so payback's a bitch." He throws another snowball, resulting in another scream, making Craig laugh evilly. I stare. Not that I don't find this funny. It's hilarious, but I'm too distracted by the fear of being caught by staff. Someone must've come in to check on the screaming kids, that would've definitely told them about the thump from outside. Craig throws two more snowballs, laughing. Crap, security will come any second.

"Craig, w-we need t-t-to get o-out of here. T-The security w-will come l-l-looking for u-us!" I look around frantically for a hiding place. I see a hedge right next to the building. I immediately grab Craig and shove him into it. He opens his mouth to protest, but I put my finger to my lips and run about 10ft away from the bush. Just as I stop running, the security come sprinting around the corner.

"There he is!" One yells, pointing at me. I quickly put my hands behind my back, so they think I'm handcuffed. One of the security grabs me, thinking I'm gonna try and run away.

"What are you doing here?" He asks demandingly. Dumbass.

"I-I'm allowed. R-Remember?" I ask in a mocking voice that's scarily similar to Craig's, apart from the stuttering.

"… Were you the one throwing stuff at the cell room?"

"O-Obviously not. I'm c-cuffed." I shrug my shoulders, showing that I 'couldn't' move my arms.

"…He didn't do it guys. Um, Tweek, did you see anyone other than you out here?"

"N-No. I … j-j-just heard thumping a-and came h-here." The guy nods.

"Okay. Come on guys, let's go." The security all sigh at not catching someone and walk away quickly, wanting to get away from the cold. I unhook my hands from behind my back and run over to the bush/hedge where Craig is. Man, he looks pissed.

"I-I'm sorry, C-Craig. They w-would've caught y-you." Craig glares and stays sitting there, leaning against the building. I sigh and sit next to him, not sure what to say.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Here." Craig tosses something on my lap, looking straight ahead. I hold it in my hands and look at it closely. It's a brand new cell phone.

"You… You're g-giving m-me a cell phone?"

"Yeah. It's yours."

"W-Why are y-you giving m-m-me one?"

"It's a gift."

"W-What's the o-occasion?"

"…I can't believe you seriously forgot your own birthday." I freeze. Craig's right. It's my birthday today. August 18th…

So that's why dad was staring at me like I was an idiot earlier.

"… I a-actually forgot my o-own b-b-birthday…" I face palm, feeling so stupid. Craig smiles. A very small smile, but a smile.

"I guess that happens… when you're in a mental institution." I look down.

I've forgotten how crazy this all is. I'm some crazy kid in a nut house that's in love with their psychologist's son, then the psychologist adopts me, then I attempt an escape with the son, and then the two of us are sitting together in a bush. Yeah…

"… I guess so …"

"You didn't stutter." Craig states, looking surprised. I shrug.

"I guess you just magically do that to me." I just took a risk and hinted that he means a lot to me.

"… You mean I did it?"

"Probably. Ha, all you have to do now is get rid of my anxiety, shaking, and addiction to coffee." I meant it in a joking way, but I think Craig's taking it seriously.

"I'll try."

"…" I wonder if Craig really can get rid of my problems. What if-

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?" We look up to see Kenny leaning over us, smirking. Craig gives him a strong glare.

"What are you doing here, McCormick?" He asks dully, looking annoyed. I don't blame him, I'm annoyed too.

"Well, Kyle and Stan are busy, Butters and I are bored, and we heard its Tweek's birthday, so we came here for today. Butters is in the bathroom. Cartman told me you were with Tweek, so I figured you'd probably be outside, since the fatass told me Tweek has more freedom now. Here you go, Tweek. I thought these'd be useful for you." Kenny tosses something at me.

… Fluffy handcuffs.

Craig and I stare at them.

"W-What the hell, Kenny?"

"Hey, calm down Craig. I just thought he'd want cuffs that aren't made of nothing but metal. These ones are soft and gentle." Kenny says, trying not to laugh. Craig gives him the finger. I blush at the handcuffs.

"Aren't these a kind of s… sex toy or something?" I struggle to say the word 'sex'. It feels like such a forbidden word for someone like me.

"Yeah, but they can be used for other purposes." Kenny laughs at my huge blush. Craig gives him a look. Kenny receives the silent signal and walks away, still laughing.

"Look Tweek, he's not that bad a guy. He's just an idiot."

"What makes you think that?" I ask, wondering whether I should actually keep the handcuffs or not.

"…He's the poorest kid in town…" I stare at the handcuffs, thinking about how expensive they must've been for him.

"…That was really nice of him." Craig stares at my guilty face. He gets up and brushes himself off.

"Well, you might as well make a use of them." Craig picks up the handcuffs and pulls me up. He handcuffs me awkwardly. Wow, they're really soft.

"…Thanks."

"Come on. You must be really cold. You don't have a jacket." I didn't even notice I felt cold, but yeah, it's true. Not that I care. I'll live in a freezer if it means spending time with Craig.


"There you two are! I was looking everywhere. Craig, you need to get home, or your mother will go nuts. And you Tweek, you need to get back to your cell. It's almost dinner. You need to eat. Say goodbye, both of you."

"I'll come back in a few days. My mom thinks I need to stay home more."

"That's fine. I need to catch up with my friends here anywa…" I trial off as Craig hugs me. It's not a sly, quick, hug like when I first met him. It's a meaningful, loving hug, like we're family. Well, we are sort of. I would hug him back, in fact I'd like nothing better … but I'm handcuffed. I feel like crying 'cause of it. Though, I do feel relaxed.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Craig springs away from me, blushing slightly. We turn to see Kenny walking towards us, pointing and laughing, with Butters in tow.

"AWWWWW! THAT'S SO CUTE!" Kenny laughs so hard that his stomach starts hurting. Butters helps the still giggly Kenny over to us, looking sheepish.

"Sorry. Kenny's in a giggly mood today." Butters smiles at me.

"Happy birthday, Tweek. Here. I'm sorry I couldn't get you a present, but I was grounded so I didn't have time to buy one." I nod reassuringly, accepting the card he hands to me.

"Thanks Butters." Dad taps his watch urgently. Craig sighs.

"Gotta go. Kenny, Butters, my dad'll give you guys a ride." Butters and Kenny nod and start following Dad outside. Craig takes a step after them, then changes his mind and turns to me.

"Tweek … I …"

"What is it?" Whoa… he looks nervous.

"… Nothing. It's nothing." He smiles weakly and runs away, trying to catch up with the others. I stare after him, confused. What's wrong with him? I hear footsteps behind me. I spin around and see a nurse approaching.

"Tweek, you have to go back to your room now." The nurse says, frowning at my fluffy handcuffs.

"Alright." I nod obediently and start walking to the elevator. The nurse stares at me, looking really shocked. I wonder why. As I enter the elevator and press the second floor button, I notice something different about me. I feel really relaxed. I think it's 'cause … 'cause …

Oh my God. For the first time in four years, I've stopped shaking. Craig just cured my shaking.