Tap. Tap. Click. Click. Click. Tap. Tap. Click. Tap.

Stan huffed for the fifth time in the past twenty minutes. He grumbled beneath his breath as he cast the other boy a glare. Craig, leaning up against his headboard, forced himself to keep staring at the words on the page. He was certain he read the same passage but he really didn't feel like engaging Stan.

Click. Click. Click. Tap. Tap. Tap. Click. Tap. Clic-

Craig's grey eyes slowly moved from the page to his boyfriend. "Is something wrong?" he asked tensely.

Stan's eyes snapped over. A glint of red glossed over the blues briefly. Craig inwardly recoiled, worried for impending disaster. He still recalled the day when Stan blasted his Playstation because he thought Craig was more in love with the console than him. Instead, Stan continued to glare, leaving Craig to become increasingly more annoyed.

"Enough of this," Craig said seriously. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He recently bought a new tv and would like to keep it. "I'm sorry I said I thought Denver was a hellhole. I just don't like winter."

"That's not the point," Stan finally spoke.

"Then can you please talk to me?" Craig said, forcing a gentle tone. He was never the best at handling situations like this. It was one of the reasons him and Tweek broke up. His constant emotional breakdowns were too much for him.

"It's like you don't even care," he said.

"About what?" Craig asked.

"Everything!" Stan shouted, jumping off the bed to tower over Craig. "Us!"

"I think me putting up with shit like this shows I care," Craig answered, voice dropping dangerously low.

"Fuck you Tucker," he countered. "I'm the only one trying to see this relationship past a high school thing but if that's all you want... If all I was was just some freak to have fun with, let me know now."

"What are you talking about?" Craig asked harshly, getting up from the bed himself. "Of course you're not just some freak to me. I don't get why you are so mad."

"We have only a few months left here and we haven't even discussed where you are applying. Anytime I try and bring it up, you brush it off," he retorted.

Craig tensed up for a moment. Only an hour ago, Stan arrived in his bedroom, ecstatic and overjoyed with news. He proudly announced he would be receiving a football scholarship to the University of Colorado and according to Mackey, his grades and extra school activities were good enough for approval, even without the promise of a scholarship. For a moment, Craig was happy for him. Stan had persisted and endured and it paid off. However, those feelings were swiftly replaced when he realized he had two choices. He could either accept he was going to be stuck in Colorado or break it off to pursue his filmmaking dreams out of state. The realization pained him and all he could say when Stan stood there rambling on about the university was: "Denver is a hellhole. I would hate to waste my life here."

"Do you want me to be honest or do you want me to lie?" Craig sighed. "You've had everything figured out. Your school, your future career, even us. But did you ever stop and ask or even think about what I want?"

Stan blinked, taken back slightly.

"I've been busy with these lessons. My mind has been all over the place," Stan confessed, but Craig rolled his eyes.

"No, Stan. It's always been about you. Your needs. Your problems. I feel like you never care about anyone but yourself," he seethed. "I've given up a lot for this relationship."

"Like what?" he snarled. Any sympathy he had for the other man was tossed out the window.

"Did you ever notice how I don't hang with Clyde and Token anymore? How I'm always bumming around with Broflovski, Stevens, and THE McCormick," he said scathingly.

"You hang with that Tweek," Stan inputted darkly.

"It's not because I like your friends over mine. In fact, they suck," Craig said, ignoring Stan. "It's because of you. You were constantly causing problems. Setting fires, breaking shit. People might like you on the football field, but off, they're terrified."

"You think I don't know that," Stan cried angrily. Did Craig think the lessons with Damien were for fun?

"And despite that, I chose you. I chose to lose my friends and I chose to deal with all those fires because I wanted to be with you," he said, reaching out and grabbing Stan's hands. For a moment, they stood there, eyes locked and Craig believed the fight had died until Stan ripped his hands away.

"I never wanted to be a burden to anyone. I've had people shout things at me, call me names, demand I get locked up, but I've never felt like I ruined anyone's life until now," he said dejectedly.

"Stan," Craig said, he didn't know what to follow up with. Instead, he watched as Stan gave him one last look before turning to the window. Awkwardly, he climbed out of it, pushing off the ledge as he took flight.

Craig leaned out of the window, seeing Stan breast-stroking through the cloudy sky. He was making his way in the direction of Kyle's house.

"Fuuuuuuucccckkkk yooooooouuuuu Tuuuuuucccckkkeeerrr," Stan yelled.

Craig looked over at Stripe #7, playing in his wheel, and sighed.


The following day, Stan was still upset, but he focused on Damien's lessons throughout his classes. It was a struggle, resulting in a migraine, but he managed to not cause any disturbances. He had also successfully dodged all of Craig's attempts to talk. He was afraid his efforts to control himself would vanish at the sight of him. It helped that Kyle and Bebe were there to tell Craig to piss off.

Now, he was back on the stage for the fifth rehearsal. The balcony set had been rebuilt and the cast had positioned themselves for the infamous scene once more. Stan looked up, seeing a few scorch marks along the wall and parts of the red curtains blackened. He flinched but turned his attention to Annie, who had taken over the role of Juliet, giving her a reassuring smile. She didn't return it.

"You two ready?" Mackey called from his seat.

"Yes, sir," they answered, both with slight uncertainty.

"Stan, you got your shit together?" Mackey asked.

"Yes, sir," he grumbled.

"Alright then," he said, giving Stan a calculating look. "Lights—"

Stan tensed, looking past the rows of seats to the glass lighting booth above to see Craig standing there. He had completely forgotten he would be here. Craig gave him a small wave, but swearing under his breath, Stan turned away.

"Action, m'kay!"

The scene went without a hitch. Every emotion he had been feeling that day, he conformed and adjusted into a false feeling of passion. Each time he wanted to scream at Craig in the hallways, he transformed it into desire for Annie. All the fires the demon inside him wanted to set were being freed through Shakespeare's words. It was fire and love. The perfect recipe for the scene.

"Bravo!" Mackey applauded. Stan blushed. This was the first time he had not been met with scathing remarks. Even Annie seemed more relaxed high above him. It was hard not to look past Mackey and gauge Craig's reaction but he forced himself to keep his attention on the counselor.

"That was really well done, Stan. Annie,, if you want to come down, let's just go through your lines once more. Then we'll proceed to Kenny's death scene, m'kay" Mackey informed the group.

The rehearsal continued for another hour. It finally ended as it always did; Mackey screaming and swearing. This time, however, it wasn't directed at Stan, as it always was. Kenny's over the top acting and inability to just die grated the man's nerves enough for him to jump from his seat and scream "why can't you stay fucking dead, m'kay?!"

They filed out of the auditorium, chatting and laughing. It was rare for Stan to leave with his spirits feeling lifted. He was in the middle of listening to Kenny tell another outrageous story from one of his visits to Damien's home, when a hand grabbed his wrist.

Stan spun around, coming face to face with Craig. He instantly narrowed his eyes at the taller boy. If there was any time to let go and forgo Damien's lessons, it was now.

"Stan, please listen to me," Craig urgently said.

Stan said nothing. Kyle and Bebe weren't here to save him. Craig took Stan's silence as a go ahead. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Stan watched, confusedly as Craig began to scroll through his iTunes.

"I'm not very good at expressing myself," Craig explained, still scrolling. "I laid in bed all night listening to songs but nothing quite felt right. My sister suggested Cher but I knew you'd blast my ass across this school if I played that shit."

"Craig what—" Stan fumbled.

"Here!" Craig declared, hitting his phone's screen. He let go of Stan and took a few steps back. The hallway suddenly became filled with the sound of E major 80s beat.

Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth?

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth

They say in heaven, love comes first

We'll make heaven a place on earth

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth

Taking a long inhale, Craig rocks back and forth, moving his arms stiffly in an awkward dance.

When the night falls down

I wait for you and you come around

And the world's alive with the sound

Of kids on the street outside

Stan watched completely horrified and memorized as the song played and Craig continued his stiff dance moments. A crowd of onlookers was now slowly forming around them. Most had the same look as Stan.

When you walk into the room

You pull me close and we start to move

And we're spinning with the stars above

And you lift me up in a wave of love

He was about to say something, but Craig went into a full-on shimmy.

Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth?

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth

They say in heaven, love comes first

We'll make heaven a place on earth

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth

Craig was now standing right in front of him still shimmying, his stale pizza breath hitting Stan in the face while the crowd broke into a cheer.

"Stan, I fucked up," Craig claimed over the song and onlookers.

Stan raised his brow, the corner of his mouth twitching as he fought the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of all of this.

Baby, I was afraid before

But I'm not afraid anymore

Stopping his shimmying, Craig reached over and grabbed Stan's hands. Intertwining his fingers with Stan's, he leaned into his ear.

They say in heaven love comes first

We'll make heaven a place on earth

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth

"Stan, wherever you are is where I want to be. You're my heaven on earth," Craig whispered lovingly. "If you're here, then Colorado is Heaven. If you want to be in a swamp, then it's Heaven. To me, you're not some freak or some demon, you're Stan. The guy I love and the guy I want to spend hours with studying for stupid college exams, going to lame college parties, carrying home because you can't handle your fucking booze."

Blushing, he pulled away to observe his boyfriend's face. Past him, he could see the crowd giggling and pointing. "You couldn't have just said this?" he asked quietly, laughing. "You didn't have to embarrass yourself."

Craig shrugged. "It was the only way to get your attention."

"I hate you," he sighed, reaching up and kissing Craig.

"How about we go make the bed levitate?" Craig growled suggestively, beaming down with a lopsided grin.

Without wasting another second, he pulled Craig alongside him, pushing past the cheering crowd to the outdoors and they took flight into the heavens above.

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth