A/N: I was cruel wasn't I? *Evil laugh* lol. Well, I guess I should put you out of you're misery and let you see what happens next to Kyle...
Darkness clouded my vision and my stomach lurched with the realisation that this was it... I was going to die here.
However I abruptly felt the hand dissapear from around my throat as I limply dropped to the floor... followed by a loud bang.
As my vision started to clear I quickly realised that the loud bang was Craig hitting the floor and even more suprisingly... Tweek was now sitting on top of him. He was restraining the black haired fledgling eventhough he didn't need to. Craig was now oddly still and since they had landed quite near me I could see the expression of confusion and shock on his face. Maybe he was starting to come out of his trance. "C-Craig?" Tweek asked tentatively.
"Tweek?" Craig questioned, quirking a brow in confusion. He still didn't sound like himself and his eyes were still zombie-like but there were hopefull glimmers of the old Craig there. Whatever had been controling him was weaker but it was still there, still desperately trying to reclaim him.
The twitching blonde loosened his grip on his boyfriend's arms, moving one hand to rest on the side of Craig's face. "You have to fight whatever it is that's making you act like this" he instructed softly, smoothing his thumb across the charcole haired boy's cheek.
"I can't" Craig admitted. "It's too strong."
"You're stronger" Tweek replied. "Besides, I'm -gah!- here for you, all of us are here for you. C'mon fight it Craig."
"Everyone hates me" Craig states, it's his dead voice. It's trying to claim him again by covincing him that he's the only person he has. I don't know how I knew that, I just did.
Without even thinking about the fact that this guy had been trying to kill me only two minutes ago, I reached out and grabbed his hand. "No we don't!" I wheezed, my voice still strained from being strangled. "We care about you Craig."
"See?" Tweek said, still sitting on Craig but not showing any sign of wanting to move."No one hates you Craig. Not even the person you were about to brutatly murder before I tackled you." The edges of Craig's lips twitched upwards in the barest hint of a smile at that statement.
My heart went out to Tweek, I mean through all of this shit he's still stuck with Craig when he could've just broken the imprint and left him, I know I probably would have. No, Tweek would never do that, I can tell by the gentle, concerned, caring look he was giving the black haired fledgling. Then it hit me, realisation slapped me right in the face and there was no way I could possibly ignore it, there was no way that this was just the imprint... it never had been with Tweek and Craig. In fact the imprint probably played the most insignificant part in thier relationship, it was just an added bonus in thier case, whereas it was an extremely big deal in mine and Stan's.
Everyone had got it wrong by saying that Craig just put up with Tweek's fears and that Tweek just ignored Craig's attitude because the truth was... those things are what they loved about eachother. They weren't just imprinted, they were in love and not just the kind of lighthearted 'I love you' that a couple will tell eachtother now and again, the kind of love that went without saying because it was so strong. It was the kind of love where every flaw just made them care more about eachother, where one would gladly take a bullet for the other, where it actually hurt to feel that much for one person. It was the kind of love that I thought only existed in books and movies. So of course Tweek would be the only fledgling who could get Craig back, I can't believe no one saw it before.
Even the way they were looking at eachother at that moment screamed that they were connected, on more levels than just an imprint... and once I saw it I wanted it so badly. I didn't love Stan that much-
My thoughts were cut off by Stan's arms wrapping around my waist as he pulled me towards him, so that he was hugging me tightly agaist his chest. "Please, never do that to me, ever again" he whispered into my ear. There was something different about his voice, all of the playfullness that he usually spoke to me with was gone and replaced by a seriousness that I'd never seen in him before. "I thought I'd lost you..." he choked out, sadness and fear sliding into his voice "... before I even got to know you." Something about that made me clutch the front of his shirt as if my life depended on it. I could have never seen him again, I could have lost him too and eventhough our bond isn't as strong as Craig and Tweek's that thought absolutely terrified me.
I didn't love Stan that much... yet. But I knew that I would someday and I was definitely looking forward to it.
"I won't" I assured him. "I promise." He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead as we turned back to the scene in front of us. Craig was now convulsing and gasping and Tweek had moved to sit beside him, keeping a strong grip on his hand.
"Craig you have to fight it!" Tweek demanded with panic filled eyes.
"That's what I'm doing" Craig replied, his teeth gritted in concentration.
"Well do it better" Tweek pleaded.
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one with something trying to take over your body!" he responded. "I don't know how to fight it!"
"Just try -GAH! I CAN'T LOSE YOU CRAIG!" Tweek started to panic.
"I'm fucking trying ok!" Craig yelled, before wincing slightly. "I don't know if I can beat it!"
Tweek looked thoughtfull for a few seconds before leaning down and pressing his mouth to Craig's ear. He whispered something to the dark haired fledgling so quietly that it was inaudible to the rest of us. Craig's reaction was almost instant. He let out a loud, sharp gasp, shooting into an upright sitting position. His eyes rolled back into his head and an odd black orb of smoke and light escaped his mouth, before he slumped backwards again, his eyelids fluttering shut.
"What is that?" I questioned, reaching towards the smoke with my hand as it hovered in the air in front of me. It was extremely odd, it made me feel like I was the only person on the planet, so isolated and alone. I can't begin to imagine how Craig must have felt with it actually inside him.
Tweek slapped my hand away from it. "Kyle! Don't touch it!" he scolded. "You don't wanna know what it is trust me."
"Why does it make me feel so lonely?" Kenny asked.
"You feel it too?" Wendy cut in, we all nodded in response.
"That's just how it - gah - works" Tweek explained.
"How do you know what it is?" Stan said.
"I j-just do, ok?" the twitchy blonde snapped. "Now can you all just -ack- stop asking questions? It's too much pressure" Tweek raised a pale, shaky hand and with one swift movement the orb dissappeared through the door of the dorm, our eyes following it before going back to look at Tweek again.
"How the heck di-"
Butters was cut off by Tweek "Don't ask questions" he repeated. Ok so he's definitely just gonna choose to ignore this and I don't blame him, if I was that scared of everything I would try and block it out too. But I'm not Tweek and I can't help but wonder why that thing was even inside Craig in the first place.
Before anyone could say anything Craig sat bolt upright again. His eyes snapped open widely, looking around as if he didn't understand what was going on... but it was him again, completely him, his eyes weren't lifeless anymore. Wow, what the hell did Tweek say to him?
"I'm back?" he questioned to himself. "I'm back!" he grinned. "You wouldn't believe how uncomfortable it is being trapped in your own body but not being able to control it." He grabbed Tweek into a crushingly tight hug "Thank you Tweek!" Then he turned to me "I'm so sorry Kyle." He sighed "Right, now I can get to the point, I don't have much time and there's-"
"Craig!" I smiled. "You're you again!" But for some reason Craig didn't seem too happy, his mood seemed to have changed from over the moon to worried and agitated within the space of five seconds. My own smile soon faltered and dissapeared "Craig? What's wrong?" I questioned.
"There's something you all need to know" he stated, his tone of voice and expression both deadly serious.
Wendy, Butters and Kenny joined our little group on the floor "What is it Craig?" Wendy asked, sharing a concerned look with me before continuing. "What do we need to know?"
Craig swallowed nervously "It's principal Victoria and professor Cartman, do not trust them, they're up to somethi-"
My heart froze, sending an unsettling chill throughout my body as Craig's sentence was cut short by a loud chest rattling cough and the scent of his blood filled my nose...