Chapter 10 – A Quiet Evening In

Tweek had a sinking feeling when he closed the front door behind him after returning from school that day. He realised that it was Monday which meant that his parents were working late.

The shop stayed open until 10pm on a Monday as it held a poetry reading session which was very popular with the residents of South Park (who liked to think they were edgy and progressive). It was actually one of the shops busiest periods.

Tweek had always hated Monday nights. The later it got in the evenings the scarier being alone was. Every noise sounded like someone making their way into his room and the shadows on the wall looked like twisted, gnarling monsters about to devour him.

Lately though this had changed - he actually looked forward to Monday nights now. He would go home with Craig after school and stay there until around 8pm when Mrs Tucker would drive him back to his house. Tweek always enjoyed spending time at the Tucker's as it made him feel like he belonged to a real family.

Mrs Tucker didn't like that Tweek was left on his own so much. She hated driving away from his house and seeing him waving from the doorstep. When Craig asked for permission to Facetime with Tweek until his parents got home on a Monday night Mrs Tucker not only agreed but encouraged it.

The boys usually just watched the same TV programme and chatted with each other. They never did much but Tweek did not feel scared or alone anymore. Just hearing Craig's voice and seeing his face made him feel safe.

Tweek made his way into the kitchen and poured himself a large cup of coffee. He looked in the fridge trying to decide what to eat but realised that he wasn't hungry. Eventually he grabbed a chocolate bar and went up to his room.

The evening went slowly and with each glance at the clock Tweek was disappointed that more time had not passed. Once it got completely dark Tweek changed into his night clothes and climbed into bed pulling the covers up to his eyes.

He kept his beside lamp switched on but this didn't stop the old feelings of terror creeping back in. The shadows once again started to take the form of monsters and the noises were unsettling. He looked at the clock and saw that it was only 7:44pm and let out a groan. Tweek was certain that time was now going backwards.

Without warning a loud noise and vibrating sound came from Tweek's side and he involuntarily let out a small gasp and flung himself against the wall furthest from where the noise had come from.

The noise continued and it took Tweek a few seconds to realise it was his phone. A nervous chuckle escaped from his mouth as he reached towards it. He froze when he saw what the screen said:

Craig would like FaceTime

Craig had also returned home to an empty house that afternoon. His parents hadn't returned from work yet and Tricia was obviously attending one of her many after school clubs. Craig threw his backpack on the floor and flopped onto the sofa. A sharp pain shot through his body where he had been injured earlier and he grimaced.

Craig spent a long time just laid staring at the ceiling trying to keep his mind as blank as possible. As much as he tried his brain always rebelled and returned (as usual) to thoughts of Tweek. Craig had been wondering all afternoon what Tweek had been about to say to him in the locker room before the other kids had made an appearance. He had been asking himself if things would be resolved now if only they hadn't been interrupted.

After an amount of time that Craig could not identify he heard a car pull into the drive and the slam of a door. He quickly reached for the TV control and pressed the power button. The TV sprung into life just as Mrs Tucker walked through the door.

"Hi hon" she said frowning slightly as she entered the house "everything okay?"

"Yeah I've just been watching TV" Craig lied.

"Oh, I didn't know that you were such a fan of My Little Pony" she responded with raised eyebrows. Craig turned his attention to the TV and saw two brightly coloured ponies dancing around on the screen. He realised that Tricia must have been watching cartoons before school this morning and when he had switched on the TV it was still on that channel.

"I must have fallen asleep or something" he advised shrugging, knowing full well that his mother wouldn't believe that, but deciding it was better than not saying anything.

"I was hoping that Tweek would be here" Mrs Tucker remarked as she made her way through the living room. Craig flinched at the sound of Tweek's name and just grunted back in response. Hearing Tweek's name did however spark a realisation in Craig. He had been so preoccupied with wondering what Tweek was going to say to him that afternoon that he hadn't realised what day it was.

His stomach churned at the thought of Tweek being alone this evening but he wasn't sure what he should do. Except for their brief exchange this afternoon he hadn't spoken to Tweek in the last few days and didn't know if a call tonight would be welcomed.

Craig spent the rest of the early evening agonising over what he should do. He barely ate any of the meal that Mrs Tucker had prepared and did not get involved in the conversations at the dinner table. He was only drawn away from his thoughts when he heard Tricia say

"Why isn't Tweek here tonight? He's always here on a Monday" Craig felt three pairs on eyes focus on him and rather than answering Tricia's question just flipped her off. Tricia instantly returned the gesture and stuck out her tongue.

"He's probably got sick of Craig and decided to break up with him!" She sneered. Craig never usually reacted to any of Tricia's insults or provocative comments but what she had just said hit a nerve, as it was exactly what Craig feared had happened.

Craig stood up with such force that his chair flew onto the floor behind him and his face was full of rage.

"You've got no idea what happened so shut your mouth!" he yelled in Tricia's direction. Tricia flinched back in her chair as though Craig's words had physical assaulted her. An atmosphere of shock hung in the kitchen. None of the Tuckers had ever seen Craig lose control of himself this way before.

The shock caused tears to silently roll down Tricia's face. Mr Tucker's fork was frozen midway between his plate and his mouth and gravy dripped onto the table. Mrs Tucker just stared, not recognising the boy in front of her with his eyes full of anger and tears.

Craig looked around the table and when he saw the look of horror on his family's faces he instantly regretted his actions – especially when he saw that Tricia was upset. He knew he should apologise but he couldn't form any words. His throat felt as though it had closed and he might choke if he tried to speak.

Instead he just picked up his chair and put it back into it's place. He turned around and exited the kitchen and made his way to his room. After a while there was a light knock at the door and Mrs Tucker entered the room.

"I'm sorry" Craig said robotically without looking up. Mrs Tucker didn't respond to his statement and simply sat on the bed next to him. Craig could feel his mother's eyes staring at him and began to feel uncomfortable…he also started to feel like he was about to cry.

"I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make Tricia cry" Craig explained. He only just managed to say the last word before his voice started to tremble and his breathing became deep and erratic. Mrs Tucker pulled her son into a tight embrace. Craig could not fight the need to break down any longer and fell apart in his mother's arms.

Craig eventually managed to gain control of himself and pulled his face away from Mrs Tucker's shoulder. He noticed that her shirt was wet from his tears. Mrs Tucker had still not said anything up until this point and had simply been stroking Craig's head.

"Feel better?" She asked. Craig nodded and managed to force a half smile for his mother.

"Craig, it's not good for you to bottle things up and shut yourself off from the world. Since Tweek came along you talk to me and I don't feel like I am prying if I asked how your day has been. I love you and I always will, but I don't want you to go back to the old Craig who was so disconnected from everyone. Regardless of what happens going forward please don't shut me out of your life again"

Craig could only stare at his mother. For the first time in his life he didn't see her as "Laura Tucker – Mom", he saw her as a person, someone with emotions and fears. Someone whose biggest fear at the minute seemed to be caused by him.

Despite the feeling of guilt he had building up inside of him he couldn't find the right words to comfort her. Craig had never been able to express himself very well and wondered if this had been a contributing factor to his current situation. He questioned if things would be different if he had been able to tell Tweek how he felt.

Craig smiled at his mother again and squeezed her hand, hoping that this gesture would be enough to ease her worries. It appeared to do the trick as she stood up, kissed him on the head and left the room.

Craig noticed that it was now fully dark outside and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. The red digital numbers showed "7:41".

His thoughts returned to Tweek. None of the pictures that came into his head reassured him that everything was okay. First an image of a small blonde figure crouched in the corner of a room with a look of terror on his face. Craig thought this was bad enough but then his mind showed a short movie of the same blonde figure roaming through the dark, cold streets alone and afraid.

Craig was pulled away from his internal cinema when Stripe let out a small sneeze from the corner of the room. He instinctively smiled, remembering how hysterical Tweek had found it the first time he heard Stripe sneeze. He hadn't stopped laughing for about 10 minutes.

Craig stood up and grabbed the chair from his desk and put it in front of Stripe's cage. Returning to the other side of the room he grabbed his phone and a pillow. Placing the pillow on the seat of the chair Craig rested his phone in one of the folds so that it was standing on its side. He pressed the button which opened the camera and adjusted the phone so that the screen only showed Stripe's cage.

Once he was happy with the position, he closed the camera, took a deep breath and pressed the buttons to initiate Facetime with Tweek. Craig stood above the phone and looked down so that he would not be caught by the camera but could see the screen. After what seemed like a lifetime the image changed and showed Tweek's face.

Craig looked at the picture that was being broadcasted to Tweek and made sure that it showed Stripe snuffling around his cage – it was. He sat on the end of his bed and watched as Stripe started to take a drink from the bottle attached to the side of his cage. The temptation to sneak another look at the phone and see Tweek's face was overwhelming but Craig couldn't help but feel like it was a bit creepy and unfair considering Tweek could not see him.

After a few minutes Stripe decided that it was time to re-arrange his sleeping area and started to dig around. One particular movement sent a small cloud of sawdust up into the air which resulted in Stripe letting out a small but relatively loud sneeze.

For the first time since the phone call had begun the silence was broken from Tweek's side and Craig heard a familiar giggle. Craig smiled at the sound he loved to hear and had missed so much over the past few days. He laid his head down on his hands and continued to watch Stripe until he fell asleep.

Around 9:45pm Craig opened his eyes and it took him a second to realise where he was - he wasn't familiar with waking up at this end of the bed. After his brain had caught up with his eyes he remembered the FaceTime with Tweek and sleepily made his way over to his phone which was still resting on the chair by Stripe's cage.

Craig peered over the top of the phone – carefully avoiding being caught in the cameras sight – and his heart melted when he saw the screen. He picked up his phone and looked closely at Tweek who was fast asleep in his bed. Craig realised that Tweek must have propped his phone up on the cabinet next to his bed and had also fallen asleep while he was watching Stripe.

"Goodnight babe" Craig whispered as he ended the call.