9.
Tweek was starting to get antsy being home on his own. He'd appreciated the copious amounts of greasy and cheesy food his mom prepared, and at least one of his parents had tried to stay home with him on Sunday and Monday, but Tweek found himself alone more often than not. He'd gotten in the habit of sleeping until ten or later, which was doing wonders for the bags under his eyes, but Tweek spent his mornings and mid-afternoons trying to find ways to occupy his time.
He tried his homework and found it required more attention than he was willing to give. He was so far behind that it felt like an insurmountable task, so Tweek set about typing emails to his teachers. He didn't have to wait long for replies and most of them responded with extensions on his work, which Tweek was pleasantly surprised about. He felt silly about the whole thing though, having let a little fight between him and Craig affect his work so much.
Tweek was happy, though. Craig was back in his life and Tweek didn't have to wonder whether his texts were going to go ignored anymore. He'd danced around the kitchen while unloading the dishwasher while his parents were away, appreciating the fact that he'd done something that had felt impossible only a week ago. He'd told the truth. And Craig hadn't run from him like he was the plague.
As expected, Tweek received a few texts asking how he was doing come Monday night. He wondered briefly if Craig had told everyone what had happened on Friday, but Craig was never one to let his personal matters - or the matters of those around him - become a topic of conversation. Regardless, rumors tended to travel fast in South Park, and Tweek was quick to answer their questions.
Especially Kenny's.
Tweek managed to sit through dinner with his parents that night for the first time in a few weeks. They had dropped trying to press him for more information about Friday and seemed content that Tweek was simply eating meals supervised. He logged the meals accordingly and received a gold star from the (probably bored) RN that was tasked with checking the data.
Craig: hey do you want me to bring over your hw tomorrow?
Craig: or yknow I could just toss it and come over anyway
Craig: pretty sure you dont have to do it
Craig: dude
Craig: if I had health insurance I'd totally go to the hospital to get outta this shit
Tweek: Yeah, if you could.
Tweek: You don't have health insurance?
Craig: I don't think so
Craig: I dunno I guess I never asked my parents
Tweek: What happens if you get sick?
Craig: lmao idk
Craig: die probably
Tweek: Not funny. :(
Craig: come on it was a joke
Craig: I'll come over after school tomorrow
Tweek texted Craig, stretched out on his bed, for most of the night. He was excited at the prospect of getting to spend more time with Craig, even if it was under the guise of getting caught up with his schoolwork. Or even actually doing his schoolwork. The familiar itch of anxiety was starting to wedge itself back under Tweek's skin. His stomach felt a little sour at the thought of how far behind he was, but Tweek figured he would be able to sneak in some quality makeout sessions between textbook chapters. If he could get Craig to actually crack one of the books. He fell asleep, phone in hand, wondering what kind of sneaky tactics he would have to employ to get Craig to study.
It was nice getting to wake up without his alarm blaring him into a dizzying vertigo. Tweek spent his morning clearing off his desk in preparation for Craig's arrival, and his afternoon trying to wash the sweaty scent of heavy sleep off his skin. His parents were out for the morning but his mom had come home earlier than he'd expected. Tweek hadn't told her that Craig was coming over. He figured it was too late to mention it when his phone jarred him out of towel-drying his hair in the bathroom.
Tweek met Craig at the door.
"You're looking a lot better," Craig offered candidly. He kicked off his snowy boots and followed Tweek toward the stairs.
"You do too."
His mom poked her head from around the corner of the hallway to survey the two of them. She didn't interrupt them aside from asking whether Craig was planning to stay for dinner, and what he wanted to eat.
"Anything is fine," Craig answered absently as they paused at the foot of the steps.
Tweek caught Craig's arm and pulled him up the stairs - Craig didn't say anything further until they made it to Tweek's room.
"Where did all your figures go?"
Tweek started pushing the extra chair in his room across the floor toward his desk. "I put them away. Haven't been feeling like working on them much lately."
"That's too bad," Craig answered. He set his bag down and took the desk chair as he shuffled papers around. After a few moments of thumbing through the documents, he handed Tweek a small stack and harrumphed at his own pile.
Tweek bit his lip as he took the papers. Craig seemed to be just as far behind as Tweek was, and that made him a little sad. "You really d-don't study, do you?"
"No." Craig's brow was furrowed as he searched for where to begin. The frustration in his expression was growing. "I told you that."
Twirling a pencil in an uncertain hand, Tweek frowned. "Well, isn't teaching someone the material supposed to be the best way to study?" he piqued. "Teach m-me what we went over in class today."
Craig looked visibly uncomfortable with the idea, clearly overwhelmed with the task set before him, but Tweek leaned in toward him and forced a smile. "Come on. It can't be that hard," he coaxed in an attempt to get Craig to break out of his shell.
"We talked about this cycle in biology today. It has to do with energy," Craig explained. He turned a few pages in his fraying textbook and settled on a page with a big blue diagram. Tweek started to skim the page.
"So it's like, you eat something," Craig continued, "and your body does this to convert it to a chemical that your body uses for energy."
"ATP," Tweek corrected for him, circling the chemical in question in the book.
"Yeah. That."
Tweek stared at the cycle with some apprehension as he tapped his pencil against the pages. "Do we have to memorize this whole thing?" he asked.
Craig groaned, his back connecting with the chair. He had to catch himself on the desk to keep from falling over. "Unfortunately."
"Okay," Tweek answered, trying to keep his response light and upbeat for Craig's sake, despite being overwhelmed with the task himself. He started to dig out some colored pencils from his book bag and set to work attempting to copy the diagram from the book. Craig watched him, seemingly interested, until Tweek passed him a few of the pencils. "If you write it out, you'll remember it better."
Craig toyed with the writing utensils for a moment but eventually conceded and retrieved a tattered notebook from his own bag. Tweek snuck a peek at the crude copy that Craig was making.
"I can't even pronounce like, half of these words," Craig grumbled.
Tweek chuckled. "I don't think that's the point."
"Well, what is the point?" Craig admonished.
"Aww, don't give up," Tweek cooed. "You g-got this."
Craig stared at Tweek for a moment then returned to his diagram. Tweek thought it looked a bit lopsided, but he encourage Craig to continue anyway.
"Okay, it's done," Craig announced, thrusting the notebook toward Tweek for his approval.
"Great. Now we draw it again," he said with feigned confidence. He wasn't exactly sure whether the method was going to work. "But try not to look at the textbook this time."
Craig pursed his lips and flipped his notebook over. "This is really boring, you know?"
"Yeah," Tweek admitted.
"But if you insist."
Craig had to ask Tweek a few times what words went where - and how to spell them - but the diagram ended up looking more like the one in the book after Craig's second attempt.
"One more time," Tweek continued.
He watched Craig bounce his knee impatiently, wondering if Craig was doing this just to humor Tweek, but Craig ended up finishing his third diagram before Tweek did.
"Awesome." Tweek leaned over to survey Craig's work with a grin. It was sloppy, but correct.
"What do I win?" Craig asked cheekily. Tweek looked up, attempting to hide his small smile, and settled on pressing a kiss to Craig's cheek. Craig caught Tweek's jaw in a rough hand and turned their faces toward each other.
"Is that all you n-need to get you to do your homework?" Tweek asked after another kiss, breathless.
"Basically," Craig admitted.
Tweek pulled away and shook his head. "I guess we can work something out, then."
"Good. I like this deal." Craig reached for his laptop after that and put on some music while Tweek sorted out their geometry homework. They each had a hefty packet of worksheets to get through.
"Mr. Seiks is kind of a dick," Craig lamented as he paged through his own booklet. "How is anyone supposed to get through all of this in like, two days?"
Tweek surveyed the problems. He didn't want to admit that he was feeling the same about their geometry teacher for the lengthy problems scrawled across the pages, but also for the brushing off that he'd received on Friday. "Yeah. He kind of is," Tweek eventually agreed. "But he puts everything up online, at least."
"Mm." Craig pulled up a tab on his computer and started perusing through the links on a search engine. He settled on a page that had a near identical problem as the one in front of them, with all the steps and answers laid out.
"Dude. That's cheating," Tweek said between glances at the screen and Craig's shit-eating grin.
"So? He doesn't explain anything in class, so I don't see the problem with it."
Tweek frowned but gave in automatically. He didn't want to spend two hours trying to muddle through the work on his own. After they settled on an answer for the first page, he kissed Craig again. "For your ingenuity."
Craig chuckled and set his pencil down to turn his full attention over to Tweek to deepen their kiss. Tweek let himself relax into Craig's lips.
"If this is what studying with you is usually like, I think I can get used to it," Craig said huskily as he leaned away to catch a breath.
Tweek felt his cheeks get hot at the comment. "I mean, we can m-make it a regular thing," he answered boldly.
Craig pulled Tweek into his lap and kissed him. The balance was precarious on the well-worn desk chair, and Tweek found himself having to brace much of his weight against the desk. He tried to ignore the straining in his arms while Craig worked his tongue against his own, but getting lost in the movements was proving to be an easy enough feat. Especially when Craig slipped his hands under Tweek's sweater to palm at his hip bones.
The sound of the door opening made Tweek jerk in surprise. He bumped against Craig's nose in the process and nearly fell, but once he got his feet under him again, Tweek scrambled back into his own chair.
"Sorry!" It was his mom in the doorway, looking just as surprised and sheepish as they felt. "I knocked."
Craig brought his hands up to his nose, clearly wincing in pain as Tweek wiped their shared saliva from his mouth with the sleeve of his pullover. He hadn't heard anything through the music and Craig's attention.
"Mom."
She laughed and shook her head. "Dinner is ready, if you boys are finished."
Tweek decided that he'd had enough of sitting around at home and dragged himself out of bed on Wednesday to head to school. Craig picked him up dutifully, though he looked even more haggard than Tweek felt, and Tweek hung back in the warm car outside the school while Craig sucked down the rest of a cigarette. He didn't care that it made him late, or that they would both likely get in a heap of trouble if they were discovered, because Tweek was just content to share Craig's company once again.
His teachers were more understanding about his homework situation than they had been over email, and Tweek was thankful of that fact, but had resigned himself to his fate of having to stay after school and work something out with them. He ended up typing out a message as such to his parents and wondered if Craig would be down to come over again to study. If his parents weren't home when they got there, Tweek wondered how their afternoon together in the confines of his room would pan out. He entertained the idea of insisting they stretch out on the floor, or on his bed.
He was feeling better. Not just about Craig - though Tweek acknowledged that they still had some difficult conversations to get through between making out under the thinly veiled guise of studying - but about his brain. Tweek supposed the fact that his classmates seemed happy to see him again had a lot to do with that fact.
Tweek was peeling apart a sorry excuse for a breadstick at lunch, ignoring the typical lunch time banter in favor of fantasizing about Craig jumping him amidst a pile of their half-finished homework, when he spotted Cartman sauntering up to their table. He looked distraught.
"You guys gotta help me," he opened, pressing his hands down on the table in an uncomfortable thud.
Tweek glanced around at the rest of his peers, wide-eyed, then back to Eric Cartman, whose lip was quivering and looking wholly out of place in his varsity football jacket with the rest of them as his backdrop. His lower lip was quivering. Tweek thought it looked like he'd been crying.
"What's going on?" someone chimed warily.
"I just… you guys gotta meet me at the front of the school after class," he bowled out.
Tweek twirled his fork in his half-finished mushy spaghetti in an attempt to stay out of the conversation.
"Dude. We're not coming unless you tell us what this is about."
"Heidi. It's about Heidi," Cartman relented, clearly frustrated that the conversation wasn't playing out the way that he'd intended it. "I need as many people there as possible. Please guys, you just gotta do this for me."
Tweek tried not to look at Eric any more than he already had. He felt embarrassed for him, and having to sit through the charade was making his anxiety spike. But the memory of what Clyde and Kenny had told him about the alleged cheating while they had smoked in Kenny's basement a week and a half prior came floating back to him, and Tweek couldn't say that he wasn't entirely uninterested with the direction that the situation was taking.
"What do you want us to do though?" someone continued to pry suspiciously.
"You don't have to do anything besides be there!" Cartman griped, gesticulating wildly. "Come on. I've always been there for you guys when you've needed it."
Tweek bit the inside of his cheek to try to keep his next words at bay. He wasn't successful. "No, you haven't."
"Oh, okay, Tweek," Cartman hissed, rolling his eyes. "Like we don't go way back."
"I'll be there," Tweek relented, feeling the eyes of the rest of his companions fall on him warily.
"All right!" Eric gave the air above his head a punch in triumph. "Bring the rest of these dweebs with you," he added as he moved onto the next table to repeat the exchange.
Tweek frowned, deciding to take out his phone and shoot off a few quick texts to Craig to ask if he knew anything about what was going on.
Craig: fuck if I know
Craig: he's been doing this all day
He tossed the rest of his lunch and made due with choking down a granola bar on his way to his next class.
Tweek: Are you going to go?
Craig: I still have detention
Craig: but yeah
Craig: I'm gonna try. Shits probably gonna be hilarious
His English teacher looked surprised that Tweek had done the reading assignment despite his absence, but Tweek assured her that he didn't want to let his leave get in the way of his homework. She insisted that if he had any questions that Tweek could visit her any time. He made his way to biology after that and settled into the desk next to Craig's usual spot.
Craig arrived a few minutes later and joined Tweek, grinning.
"How many detentions do you have left?" Tweek asked as he arranged his papers.
Craig shrugged and stretched out on the wooden desk. "Don't remind me. I don't want to think about it."
"Sorry."
"They did waive that last one though," Craig said, giving Tweek a thumbs up. "Thanks for that."
Tweek rolled his eyes. "You're welcome, I guess."
"Token and Clyde are going to be there today. After class. For whatever stunt Cartman is planning to pull."
"Did you figure out what's g-going on?" Tweek asked.
"No."
"He said it had something to do with Heidi."
Craig stuck his tongue out but Tweek could pick out the subtle excitement in his expression. "Of course it does," Craig said.
"Eric actually seemed pretty shaken up."
"That's just how he reels you in," Craig continued, waving off the concern with easy fingers. "It's all for show. I'm surprised that she didn't get fed up with him sooner."
Tweek bit his tongue. He knew that Cartman and Heidi's relationship had been rocky in the past, but nothing of this perceived magnitude had seemed to crop up in recent times. Tweek had thought that Cartman had outgrown his childish antics for the most part, though Tweek admitted to himself that he was at least a little excited. There was a certain degree of nostalgia he felt about it, regardless of whether he was getting roped into something that he hadn't necessarily agreed to be a part of.
Their teacher handed out a quiz after the bell had rung. She paused as she rounded on Tweek's desk, but Tweek lifted a hand to take the sheet of paper.
"You can do this one for practice if you want," his teacher offered hesitantly.
"No. I'll take it," Tweek insisted.
"There was a lot of material that we covered yesterday. I'm not sure if-"
"Really. It's okay. Craig is a p-pretty great tutor," Tweek said.
The teacher looked taken aback by the statement, glancing between Craig and Tweek with a look of confusion. A few students around them looked up and chuckled to themselves.
"Dude," Craig offered awkwardly.
"I'll take it," Tweek said with an air of finality. The teacher gave him the paper and moved on to the next student.
It was the same diagram from the book but the words had been blocked out and there was a word bank in the corner. Tweek winked at Craig and filled it out. For the rest of class, they were made of act out cellular processes by milling about the room from one corner to the next, much to everyone's (except for the teacher's) chagrin. The bell couldn't come fast enough.
Tweek started to gather his things when Craig surprised him with an intense kiss and a thank you for helping him ace the quiz. He watched, a little dazed, as Craig hurried out of the classroom. Tweek was left to awkwardly palm the worksheets that he and Craig had muddled through the night before as he made his way toward the geometry classroom, hoping Mr. Seiks would be as lenient with his work as the rest of his teachers had been. His grasp on the class was still weak at best.
And as his luck would have it, Mr. Seiks seemed awfully bashful when he intercepted Tweek on his way to his desk. His teacher apologized quietly. Tweek thought that maybe his teacher suspected that his trip to the hospital could have been prevented had more attention to Tweek's questions been paid the Friday before, and Tweek didn't mention anything about it, preferring to have the silent trump card in his back pocket in case the need arose to use it. Mr. Seiks handed him a printout of the scalene proof that he'd asked to have explained to him.
"Thanks."
Tweek offered to make up the quiz that he had missed later in the week, but his teacher offered to simply drop it from the gradebook entirely. Tweek insisted on taking it on Friday instead.
When the class was over, Tweek made his way toward the front of the school. Along with half the student body. There were inquisitive and excited chattering whispers between everyone headed in the same direction. Tweek spotted Token and Clyde walking together and hurried to meet up with them.
"Hey, Tweek. How's it going?" Token asked gently when he caught up.
"Pretty good. How've you guys been?"
"Oh, you know," Clyde answered, rolling his shoulders. "Causin' trouble, runnin' amok. The usual."
Tweek chuckled as he fell in line with their stride. "Right."
"It's good to see you again," Token said.
Tweek wasn't exactly sure what he'd expected from the two of them, but their easy acceptance warmed his heart. He pondered whether either of them would have been open to talking about the fight that he and Craig had had after the football game and whether or not turning to Kenny had been the right call to make. Tweek liked the both of them. They had always been Craig's friends first and foremost, but Tweek promised himself that he'd at least try to reach out to them if he needed it in the future.
They caught up with Craig amidst the throng of other students gathering in the foyer. Cartman was standing in the middle of the group in an attempt to get them all to line up on either side of the hallway. He was wearing a full tuxedo. Tweek did a double-take, assured that Cartman hadn't been wearing it earlier in the day, and wondered where he'd procured it from. It fit him poorly.
Tweek fell in line with Craig and the rest of their friends and he wondered how Eric Cartman had managed to get the power to control so many people. He wasn't an especially intimidating person, but Cartman had always seemed to be good at manipulating situations to get what he wanted. Tweek supposed that everyone just went with it at this point.
Cartman shuffled over to them and took Token by the shoulder to shuttle him toward a boombox.
"Oh, this is going to be good," Craig said under his breath.
Tweek didn't know where the stereo had come from either, nor the bouquets of flowers that were being passed out to everyone at the front of the gathered groups. He watched, interested, while Cartman explained something to Token about the stereo.
They were both handed a bouquet of flowers. Tweek laughed and tucked one of the flowers into Craig's hat. He didn't protest, instead turning to Tweek and waggling his eyebrows.
"Okay. Okay! Everyone, just shut up!" Cartman whirled around to face the assembled crowd.
"Dude, this guy is cra-a-azy," Craig whispered as a collective silence fell over everyone.
"Yeah," Tweek answered, wincing a little at the comment. He knew Craig didn't mean anything malicious by it. "What d-do you think is gonna happen?"
"I dunno."
"Token, play the song."
If Eric Cartman had anything going for him in life, it was his impeccable grasp on timing, because Heidi emerged from the science wing, a pile of books pressed against her chest in crossed arms. Bebe was with her. They were laughing about something until they realized what laid in wait for them.
Tweek thought for a moment that Heidi was going to make a break for it as she stood, shocked, and a small part of him hoped that she would. He didn't know how he'd react if this grand of a gesture was extended toward him. Everyone was staring at her, Cartman first and foremost positioned in the middle of the crowd. He beckoned her forward.
Heidi looked pissed.
And then Cartman started singing.
Tweek had to contain his laughter. Craig couldn't, standing next to him, nearly vibrating in delight. The rest of the student body seemed to be at a loss as to how to react to the scene. Tweek caught Stan, Kenny, and Kyle exchanging deer-in-headlight looks between each other, but Cartman didn't let the awkwardness deter him.
"If you ever leave,
Baby you would take away
Everything good in my life
And tell me now
How do I live without you?"
Heidi started toward him shaking her head. She brought one of her hands up to run through her brown hair as red began to color her face. Tweek couldn't be sure it if was in embarrassment or rage, or some combination of the two emotions, or yet something else entirely.
"Without you
There would be no sun in my sky,
There would be no love in my life,
There'd be no world left for me…"
Heidi breezed past Cartman and tried to make her escape through the front doors. Cartman hurried up to her, panicking.
"Wait!" he howled. "Wait, I'm not done."
Cartman hurried through the next lyrics, offbeat and off key, and made to take hold of Heidi's shoulders to bring her toward the center of the gathered students. Bebe was just as red in the face as Heidi, and tried to come between them. Heidi gracefully brushed both Bebe's and Cartman's hands away, shaking her head in disbelief, but stood where Eric had directed her to anyway.
When the song eventually came to a close and Token clicked the boombox off, Cartman took a knee.
"No way," Craig said, unable to keep himself quiet. "This is fucking great."
Cartman shuffled around his pockets and came up with a small black box which he thrusted insistently out toward Heidi.
"Heidi, I want you to marry me."
"What?" she practically shouted into the dead silence.
"I said I want you to marry me," Cartman repeated more confidently.
The only sound after that was the crack of her hand connecting with Cartman's cheek. Tweek's jaw dropped and Craig was back to having to hold his sides to contain himself.
"How dare you!" she hissed. Heidi retracted her hand and looked around, seemingly becoming aware that she was surrounded by intent eyes. "After everything you've put me through this week?" she continued, this time more quietly.
Bebe made a grab for Heidi's arm to shuttle her out of the school.
Cartman seemed too shocked to know what to do with himself. He was still on his knee, arm outstretched toward his girlfriend, unable to process what had just befallen him.
"Heidi, I love you," he called as Heidi turned away from him.
"Just… Just go to hell already, Eric!" Heidi hissed, her voice cracking as Bebe successfully tugged her toward the doors to the school. The door shut behind the two of them.
Cartman didn't get to his feet right away. His hand started to tremble. The first people to move were Stan and Kyle, who started to make their way over to him. Tweek couldn't be sure because his back was turned, but he thought Kenny was laughing, doubled over with his arms around himself.
Craig was laughing too. Tweek was honestly too shocked with the exchange to know really what he was supposed to do after that, and the crowd started to disperse quietly around him. Craig pulled Tweek along with them.
"Oh, God," Craig howled, "that was epic. That was… That was better than The Office."
"Poor guy," Token offered weakly, but he looked like he was trying to hide his own laughter.
Craig had to stop against a row of lockers to contain himself. He wiped away a tear that had made its way onto his cheek. "Oh, my God."
Clyde snorted. "Dude, that's what he gets for telling everyone that Heidi's been sleeping around."
Tweek forced his own smile as Craig righted himself once again. "That watered my crops, fed my children, and cured my depression. Seriously, best thing to happen to me all month," Craig continued.
Token and Clyde said their goodbyes and headed toward the doors while Tweek searched for something to say. He came up empty-handed, but didn't turn down the opportunity to walk Craig to detention.
Tweek thought that maybe his doctor was onto something because he certainly felt a lot better after a few full days of solid meals were under his belt. His stomach had taken a while to get used to it, but he found having to write everything down on the hospital's app helped him stay on track.
There were whispers at school about Cartman and Heidi all through Thursday. Tweek tried not to lend them much credence - just thinking about what had happened the day before made him cringe inwardly - and Tweek tried to just march through his day as best he could. He was officially back on the schedule at work. His parents had seemed itchy to have some time off, but they had asked him one too many times whether he was feeling up to taking the evening's shift. Tweek was honestly looking forward to being at the shop - he would have something productive to do with his time.
As much as Tweek complained to himself about never having enough free time, he had found himself at a loss for what to do with himself when such opportunities presented themselves. At least if he was busy, Tweek could occupy his mind with menial chores. Having to stare at his half-assembled figures, his book bag filled with homework that he hadn't started, and wondering if he was being too obnoxious by texting Craig every half hour somehow made Tweek feel empty. He both hated and enjoyed being busy, and Tweek didn't quite know what to make of that.
Craig: hey so no pressure but
Craig: theres this party tomorrow
Craig: well its not really a party actually its more of a get together
Craig: its gonna be at stans house. Kenny was gonna bring that keef over
Craig: I'm gonna go
Craig: you can come too if you want
Craig: but its no big deal if you want to stay home
Tweek shook his head at the seven messages that Craig had sent in rapid succession as he finished closing up the coffeeshop. He told himself not to get annoyed with the tiptoeing that Craig was doing on his behalf - Craig was trying to take his feelings into account after all. And Tweek appreciated that.
Twee: Sure. I'll go.
He felt his pocket buzzing as he made his way back to his house. He was dutifully handed a plate full of rice, chicken, and broccoli when he made his way into the house, not even having had enough time to shed his jacket. Tweek took the plate up to his room and stretched out on the bed, picking at a few bites between sending texts to Craig.
Tweek: I thought you were pissed at Kenny.
Craig: no
Craig: not really
Craig: I mean there isnt really anything to be mad about is there?
Tweek: No.
He chewed for a thoughtful moment on the end of a broccoli stalk, wishing that he had snuck the salt shaker up with him, but he was too lazy to get up and grab it. Tweek wondered if he should tell Craig that he had hung out with Kenny while they'd taken a brief hiatus, and he hoped that Craig wouldn't take the fact personally. Still, Tweek convinced himself that he would feel better if Craig knew the truth and he didn't have to hide anything anymore.
Tweek: I did go over to his house last week though. And he came over on Thursday.
Craig: why
Tweek: I was asking him advice about what to do.
Tweek: About us.
Craig: more coals to stoke the fire in that nosy bastard
Tweek snorted to himself and set his mostly empty plate aside, deciding that it was time to get started on his homework.
Craig: no but I do like Kenny tho
Craig: hes annoying as hell sometimes but hes got mad hookups
Tweek: I think the two of you are more similar than you think.
Craig: whats that supposed to mean?
Tweek: Well you both try to do the right thing most of the time. I know you care about people more than you let on.
Craig: oh
Craig: thanks
He smiled to himself and set the phone aside, content to wrap up in his English book before he fell asleep. The walk to school the next day was spent wrapped in his winter gear, and Craig was waiting at the entrance to the school for him with Clyde and Token. He walked into them coordinating rides to Stan's house for the "get together" that evening - and by coordinating, the other two were just bickering about what time they wanted Craig to pick them up. Craig gave up on their conversation easily and turned his attention to Tweek, but their time together didn't last long before the warning bell for class interrupted them.
Tweek was caught up, for the most part, on his schoolwork. That came as a relief to him. His teachers had stopped treading so lightly around him too and Tweek was thankful for the opportunity to fade back into the background once again. Craig waited for him outside the door to Mr. Seiks' class while Tweek made up the quiz that he'd missed.
"I thought you still had detentions to make up," Tweek said as he exited the classroom, adjusting his bag.
"Yeah, well. I make it a habit to not go on Fridays when I've got something to do."
"Reasonable."
They made their way out to the parking lot. The sun was still out. With how dark South Park usually became in the wintertime, Tweek took his time walking toward Craig's car, content to soak up the bright rays of sunshine in the chilly air. Craig still hadn't broken the habit of spinning his keys around his fingers.
"Did you want to stop by Taco Bell?" Craig offered when they reached his car.
"Sure."
Craig hummed happily as the car started under them. "What do you want?"
"A quesadilla s-sounds good right now," Tweek admitted. He hadn't eaten much of his lunch.
They brought their spoils back to Craig's house and settled into the small kitchen to eat. Tweek pulled himself onto the counter to sit, much the same was that Craig typically did at the coffeeshop, though his feet dangling off the edge of the counter didn't come nearly as close to grazing the floor as Craig's long legs did.
Ruby made her way into the kitchen while they were hastily working through the meal. She paused behind the counter, quirking her eyebrow at them. Tweek rather liked her developing attitude.
"What are you guys doing?" she asked, one of her hands perched on a popped hip.
"Nothing," was all Craig offered her in return.
She snorted. "That's dad's."
Craig glanced down at the beer in his hand and shrugged at her accusation. "You can't have Mexican food without beer. Since when do you care?"
"Taco Bell isn't Mexican food," Ruby drawled through a roll of her eyes. Tweek stifled a smile at Craig getting heckled by his little sister.
"Like hell it isn't!" Craig defended.
"Whatever," Ruby mumbled. She breezed past Craig's tall frame, further cramping the confined kitchen, and collected a bag of chips. "Hey, Tweek," she offered cheerily after procuring her snack.
"Hello, Ruby," Tweek responded while swallowing a bite of thick cheese and tortilla.
"You don't look as sick as you normally do," she added, popping a chip into her mouth. Tweek looked down at the tiled floor so he wouldn't have to watch her eyeing him closely, as if testing the waters.
"Uh."
Craig groaned. "Just get outta here already," he said as he tossed a packet of sauce at her.
"Rude," Ruby hissed. She stuck her middle finger up at Craig as she made her retreat to the living room.
"Sorry about that. Turning into quite the little bitch, that one," Craig admonished. He shook his head in mock exasperation.
"I heard that!"
Tweek laughed and stuffed the rest of his quesadilla into his mouth. "It's fine." The domesticity of the scene put him at ease a bit.
"You sure you want to come out tonight?" Craig asked, sending Tweek a wayward glance as he started to rummage through some of the cabinets.
"Yep," Tweek assured.
"There's still time to back out. I'm not gonna be mad."
"No, I think it sounds like fun."
"Mmkay." Craig withdrew a mostly full bottle of Jack Daniels and an unopened bottle of vodka. Tweek didn't recognize the label on it, but he liked the way Craig's hands curled around the glass. He found himself lately noticing small details that he hadn't paid much mind to about Craig - the way his veins stood out on his hands, the way Craig had to brush his messy hair out of his face because it was growing out… "It's cool if I drink tonight?" Craig asked.
Tweek lifted a shoulder to give his answer. "You're the driver."
"Yeah, yeah," Craig mumbled, waving Tweek off dismissively. He fit the bottles into his backpack easily and Tweek wondered where Craig kept his textbooks. "You sound like Token."
Tweek slid off the counter and gathered their garbage to stuff into the overflowing trash. When the cleanup was complete, Craig tossed his head in the direction of the stairs, and Tweek started off obediently in tow behind him. He noticed Craig's bag clinking suspiciously as they mounted the stairs.
"I'm gonna put on some music," Craig announced as they entered his room. "You in the mood for anything in particular?"
"No, not really."
Craig retrieved his laptop and plugged it into a set of speakers that adorned his desk. Tweek had never really inquired to what bands Craig liked to listen to, but he recognized the melancholy beats and somber, poetic rap lyrics that began to fill the room. He tried to sneak a peek at the screen but the artist's name appeared to be just a jumble of strange Wingding characters that Tweek couldn't make sense of. Honestly, Tweek didn't think he'd seen anything as singularly Craig before in his life.
"You know," Tweek started as he looked around at the posters on Craig's wall and at the movies scattered about on the dresser. "For someone who likes space so much, you really don't like science."
Craig whirled around to face him. "Hey, now. I never said I don't like science," he defended.
Tweek sat down on Craig's bed and scooted around to find a place in the bundled blankets and clothes that were piled atop it. "I have to b-bribe you with kisses to get you to do your homework for biology."
Craig puffed his cheeks full of air. "Space science is different."
"You're right," Tweek continued teasingly. "Pretty sure all that stuff is math. You don't like that either, if I recall correctly."
"I like science-fiction," Craig insisted. "Emphasis on the fiction part."
Tweek chucked at Craig's comment and laid back on the bed. He used a wad of blankets as a lumpy pillow, stomach feeling heavy laden with melted cheese and soda. The sound of Craig lighting up a cigarette drew Tweek's attention.
"Aliens are pretty cool, I guess," Tweek lamented quietly. "The cute ones though. With the g-green heads and big eyes. Not like, Predator, or anything."
"I don't discriminate," Craig answered. Tweek heard him tossing around the contents of his nightstand as he spoke. "They're all pretty cool in my book. Besides, aren't your figures based off of aliens?"
"No," Tweek said. "Well, kinda. But that's like, a different genre of what I play."
"Oh."
"There's some pretty neat stuff though. I think the Tyranids are actually based off of Predator, come to think about it. And there's these space r-robots that are modeled after Terminator."
"I am a friend of Sarah Connor," Craig quoted in an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression. "Can I see her please?"
Tweek chuckled. "This is the Tiki Motel!"
Craig packed the plastic bag with crumbling weed and loose tobacco into his backpack, then took a seat next to Tweek on the bed. Tweek flickered his gaze over to Craig's smile in the dim room.
"You're so weird, Tweek."
"Oh, like you're any more normal than I am," Tweek snorted.
Craig leaned back and took a drag off his cigarette. "I guess we make a good pair, then."
Tweek stuck his tongue out then started to bat away the silver smoke that was drifting toward him. "Knock it off with that mushy stuff, will you?"
"What?" Craig asked. "Too gay for you?" He snuffed out the remainder of his cigarette onto a long forgotten plate on the nightstand.
"Hardly."
Craig propped his forearms forward and leaned in close to press their lips together. "How's that?" he asked softly.
"You taste like an ashtray," Tweek grumbled, scrunching up his face.
Craig laughed and pulled away. "Did you need to get anything from home before we go?"
"No," Tweek said after a thoughtful moment. "I think I have everything that I need."
"I wonder what I should wear," Craig mused as he got to his feet. Tweek eyed him as he made his way over to the dresser.
"I think what you're wearing is f-fine," Tweek offered pointedly. He liked Craig's well-worn striped hoodie. It was soft to the touch from so many trips through the laundry. Tweek turned to press his nose into the blankets to catch the familiar scent of Craig on the bedding.
"Yeah?" Craig pulled out a T-shirt and shook the wrinkles out. From his vantage in the dark bedroom, Tweek couldn't be sure if the shirt was orange or pink. It had a band logo on it that Tweek didn't recognize and was surrounded by a plethora of seemingly hand-drawn hearts and clouds.
"Okay, that might be too gay," Tweek drawled, letting his head fall back against the mattress.
"You think so? I haven't gotten a chance to wear it yet."
"I think it should stay that way."
"Rude."
Despite Craig's words, Tweek heard Craig shuffle through the contents of his dresser again. When Tweek finally looked up, Craig was turning to look at himself in the full-length mirror hung on the back of his door. He was clad in a plain black shirt under a gray parka.
Tweek hummed. "That actually looks pretty cool."
"Thanks."
"I d-didn't know you were into fashion," he continued.
"Well, you know."
"No, I don't, Craig," Tweek said, peering at him with his eyebrow quirked. "You get a few lessons from Token?"
"How else am I supposed to be your arm candy?" Craig retorted dramatically from his place in front of the mirror.
"Oh, my God."
Craig laughed and padded over to Tweek. "Nothing wrong with a little flare every now and then," he said, pulling on the hem of his jacket to survey its length. "Gotta make sure everyone knows you've got the cutest boyfriend in South Park."
Tweek shook his head incredulously. "You're really something, aren't you?"
Craig propped his arms on either side of Tweek's chest and forced their eyes to meet. Tweek was frozen for a half second at the proximity. Their thighs were pressed against one another. "You like it, though."
"Yeah, but that hat d-doesn't really match," Tweek tumbled out as he made a grab for Craig's blue and yellow winter hat. It came off easily in his pale fingers and Tweek balled it up in his hands.
"Good point."
"Your hair is a disaster," Tweek said.
Craig blew on his bangs to get them out of his eyes, refusing to budge from his position over Tweek. "Just the way I like it."
"No, but you should really brush it," Tweek insisted. He reached a hesitant hand up to touch the soft, tangled mess of Craig's hair. Craig closed his eyes for a moment to enjoy the touch.
"No time," Craig eventually settled on. "Spent all my time picking out my clothes. Gotta hit the road."
Tweek groaned from his comfortable warmth in the bed. "What happened to nobody shows up t-to a party on time?"
"Come on. Time to go to the ball, Cinderella," Craig coaxed as he took hold of Tweek's hips. The touch would have been welcome if Craig wasn't shimmying him off the bed.
Tweek got his feet under himself and obediently shrugged into his jacket as they made to leave Craig's room. Craig's parents must have come home when they were lounging in the bedroom because Ruby was milling about the kitchen while his parents were pouring over something on the counter.
"Where are you headed off to tonight?" Craig's dad asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
Craig tried unsuccessfully to pocket the unlit cigarette he had hanging from his lips before anyone could notice. "It's Friday. I'm going over to Stan's house."
Tweek started to put on his shoes so he would have something else to pay attention to.
"You didn't take the trash out," his dad continued, tone somewhere between disappointed and tired.
"Sorry, sir," Craig mumbled out as he made his way into the kitchen.
"Drop the attitude," his dad quipped in such a way that Tweek stiffened at the words.
"Sorry, sir," Craig repeated mechanically as he tied off the trash. He had to shake it loose with some effort to free the bag from its plastic bin.
"When do you think you'll be home?" his mom chimed in. Tweek didn't miss the suspicious glance she sent his way.
Craig shrugged. "I have to work tomorrow morning. So probably like, midnight."
"Be safe, then. And for the love of God, Craig. Quit smoking in the house."
"Yes, ma'am." Craig started to make his way back over to Tweek, the plastic bag of trash in hand. Tweek reached for the door handle but the sound of Craig's dad clearing his throat made him pause. Craig glanced back toward the kitchen while Tweek started to fidget uncomfortably. "Yeah?"
His dad pointed at the empty garbage bin expectantly. Craig huffed and rolled his eyes before handing the garbage bag off to Tweek. It was heavier than it looked.
"Cool. Can I go now?" Craig asked impatiently after having placed a new bag in the trash.
Craig's dad turned his eyes ceilingward and Tweek wondered if he was trying to keep his composure on account of Tweek's presence in his house. Tweek didn't care to get under the feet of Craig's parents if he could help it - it usually ended with Craig being reprimanded over something trivial while they carefully tiptoed around acknowledging Tweek's existence. Though Tweek didn't think Craig did much by way of pacifying these exchanges either, and this situation wasn't an exception.
"Don't drink and drive," his mom relented.
"'Kay, thanks!"
Craig took the garbage bag back from Tweek and tossed it into the brown city can outside the house. It was already dark out. Tweek silently stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Sorry about that," Craig said as they got into the car.
"I don't think your parents like me much," Tweek blurted as he buckled into his seat. The car started under them on the second try.
"Aw, come on, Tweek," Craig coaxed. "They don't dislike you." He plugged his phone into the cord that hung awkwardly out of the dashboard and took his time selecting his music. "They're just… you know."
Tweek looked over to Craig for further explanation. There usually wasn't much more that Craig would offer beyond that's just the way they are, but Craig looked like he was trying to choose his words carefully.
"I dunno. They have so much to bitch at me about anyway. I think the last thing on their minds is who I'm hooking up with," Craig recovered with a sigh. "They're probably relieved that you can't get pregnant."
"Mmkay."
