AN: Heyooo! This chapter took quite a while to write. It's about twice as long as other chapters! This is the last chapter of summer, so the next update will be the boy's first day of school. I'm so excited! (I also have no wifi right now so I'm using someone's hotspot to upload this. I hope it works wtf)
Chapter Fourteen
Shining Prince
My slim cellular device came to life with a buzz indicating that I had just received a text message. My hand twitches with the automatic reaction of wanting to check it. I know it's probably just Tweek but I'm busy currently doing the dishes so it'll have to wait.
"Who're you texting Craigifer?" I didn't even notice Ruby had entered the kitchen until she walked up next to me and spoke. She makes a grab for my phone but I push her away with my hip as I continue to casually wash dishes.
"My name isn't even Craigifer."
"I know but it's ugly as fuck, just like you. So it works." She tries to grab my phone again so I use my wrist to push it across the counter so that it's further away from her. "Is it your boyfriend or something?" Her snicker tells me she's joking but it's kind of unsettling how spot on she actually is.
"Don't you have something better to do than annoy the hell out of me. Your voice makes me want to kill people. Go away. I'm trying to do dishes in peace."
Ruby scoffs and starts pulling her hair up in a bun. It honestly weirds me the fuck out how girls can just magically put their hair up in fancy buns. I hardly know how to brush my hair every morning.
"I live here too you know." She finishes with her hair and adjusts her pants. Out of the corner of my eye I see her shamelessly checking herself out in the shiny reflection of our silver fridge.
"Why aren't you hanging out with your friends? Seriously leave me alone. Stop checking yourself out too, it's creepy." A plate slips out of my hand and hits the bottom of the sink with a loud clang. In the distance I hear dad yell something at me.
"You're such a fuck up. Anyways, I am going to go hang out with my friends. More like, my friends are coming over here. Karen is on her way over."
"Great, I'm leaving then." Ruby scoffs and opens the fridge. She's humming to herself as she pulls out the carton of milk. She opens it up and doesn't bother using a glass but instead drinks straight from the container. "Are you fucking kidding me. Stop that. That's nasty. Use a fucking cup. Fuck Ruby."
The borderline ginger ignores me and puts away the milk. She walks back across the kitchen to watch me do dishes.
"School starts in exactly a week."
"Wow, no shit Sherlock. Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea." I load up the final bowl into the dishwasher and bend down to grab the soap for the machine.
"I'm just saying. No need to be an ass."
"Well I'm just saying, no shit Sherlock."
"Fuck you."
"Yeah, well fuck you too. Go away. You're bugging me." I close the dishwasher and start it. I turn back to the sink to wash my hands.
"Are you still going to work at Tweek Bros?"
"Well, I was planning on it. Why?" Ruby's shuffling her feet, staring downwards. I finish drying off my freshly cleaned hands.
"I've heard things about you and Tweek." I had been reaching for my phone but freeze at her statement. I don't really care if people are talking about us but the fact that it's already reached my sister makes me a little uncomfortable.
I don't care what my parents think about me dating a guy but I also get the feeling they wouldn't take it well. My dad is a diehard conservative and I remember when gay marriage was legalized in Colorado he literally threw a bitch fit for nearly an entire month.
Ruby's staring at me expectantly. My sister is annoying and sometimes I really want to throttle her but out of all the members in the family I'm the closest to her. We've never been open to each other or really talked about feelings but growing up in the same screwed up family has made us understand each other in a certain way.
"Well," I swallow thickly and shrug. "Well, those are all probably true."
"Wait!" Ruby gasps and covers her mouth. She looks elated. "So you really are dating him? You're gay?!"
"Fuck not so loud. Shit. You know how Dad is." I also don't know if I'm really gay but I don't feel like getting into that.
Ruby frowns slightly. "But it's true. Like really true? You're dating Tweek? A boy?"
I sigh and nod.
"Yep." For once Ruby doesn't scold me for popping the 'p'.
"Wow, you know. I think we actually have something in common then." She opens her mouth to elaborate when dad interrupts her.
"Ruby, Karen's here!"
My sister frowns slightly but then shrugs. "Whatever, see ya later fuck face." She flips me off and disappears. I probably just stand there for a solid two minutes while I try to figure out what she had meant by saying we had something in common.
Does she like Tweek too or something?
My phone vibrating again reminds me that I'm supposed to text Tweek back. I grab my phone and a soda from the fridge then run upstairs to my room. I plop down at my desk where my game of Fallout 4 is open and paused. I had been playing it before my mother so rudely interrupted me and forced me into doing dishes.
I slide my thumb across the lock screen and the messaging app on my phone automatically opens. I stopped texting Tweek a solid fifteen minutes ago so by now I have six messages from him.
Tweek: Jesus Christ dude I'm out of coffee at home.
Tweek: How did this even happen? My family runs a coffee shop for fucks sake you shouldn't just run out of coffee man.
Tweek: Come get coffee with me?
Tweek: Craaaaig pleaseee I need coffee and I want to hang out
Tweek: oh come on I miss you
Tweek: and coffee
I laugh at Tweek's messages and I go ahead and close out of my game. Apparently I'm now going to go get coffee with Tweek. Honestly I wouldn't mind coffee anyways. Last night we didn't get back from the mountains, which was actually pretty fucking nice, until really fucking late and I'm exhausted. I would have slept at Token's all day but his parents were supposed to come home today from their rich trip so he kicked us all out.
Craig: sorry I was doing dishes then Ruby was harassing me. But yeah lets go get coffee. I'm getting dressed now then ill walk over to your house and get you
Tweek: Jesus Christ thank god hurry
I text Tweek back telling him to chill the fuck out then turn back to my closet. Suddenly I realize that I'm actually putting both thought and effort into what I'm going to wear today. I shudder and pick a shirt at random. It happens to be a shirt with a cat on it wearing a pair of aviators. In all caps the shirt says "CHECK MEOWT".
Clyde got it for me for my birthday last year. Surprise, surprise.
I push my legs into black jeans, sling on my dark blue jacket, then force my hat onto my hair. I quickly pull on my vans and deem myself looking just fine. The cat shirt is a little to cheesy for my tastes but I get a feeling Tweek will get a kick out of it.
I walk quickly down the stairs and past the kitchen. Before I can completely escape my mother spots me.
"You stop right there Craig Tucker. Where are you going?" Laura Tucker crosses her arms and stares at me with a scolding expression. The majority of the time my parents don't give a fuck what I do so it's out of the ordinary for her to stop me like this.
"I'm gonna go hang out with Tweek. I already did the dishes you know. That's why the dishwasher is running." Mom rolls her eyes, puts her hand on her waist, and cocks her hip.
"I don't need that attitude for fucks sake. You got mail from your school. It's on the table."
"Wow, how exciting. Can I go now?" Mom shrugs and turns back to cooking. I take it as a yes and finally successively manage to leave.
I start heading towards my boyfriend's house and halfway there I discover Tweek walking towards me. I think he's smoking a joint which for some reason kind of bugs me. Does he really need to be high to hang out with me?
I shake off the dumb feeling and half smile at the twitchy blonde who looks happy to see me. He's wearing his usual green button up that's of course not buttoned correctly. I haven't seen him wear that button up in a while and it makes me feel all nostalgic and smiley.
"H-Hey!" He exclaims. He picks up his pace to half jog up to me. He slows to a stop when he's directly in front of me. His forested eyes peer up to meet mine and I'm overwhelmed by the desire to kiss him.
"Hi Tweekers." He scowls slightly at the nickname and I can't resist it. I bend down to softly press my lips against his. The kiss doesn't last long and when I pull away Tweek looks rather uneasy.
"O-Oh man! You can't just do that! S-Someone could see, Jesus!" He brings the joint to his lips and inhales desperately.
"I just wanted to kiss you." I roll my eyes and Tweek pouts. I turn and start heading towards downtown and Tweek closely fallows.
"But people w-will see and hate us."
"First of all, fuck everyone. Second of all, you didn't seem to care about making out in front of those people Friday night." Tweek blushes at the memory which I think is a pretty nice one.
"I w-was on things man! I felt i-invincible. That's different." We're walking close enough together that his shoulder brushes against my arm. I kind of wonder what it'd be like to hold his hand as we walked in public. It's something we've never done before but I think I'd like to.
"Sure, whatever you say." I'm obviously teasing and he gasps to feign annoyance. I hold out my hand and Tweek hands me the joint.
I take a deep inhale off the diminishing length. It's nice but I don't think it's really necessary. Most days I do want to get high but today I could care less. I'm fucking pleased as punch to be hanging out with Tweek.
"Y-You know Craig, Clyde is r-right."
"Clyde was right? That's ludicrous." Tweek laughs. We've hit the edge of the downtown area and there are a few people out on the sidewalks as they casually stroll through town.
"No I'm s-serious! He called you really sassy, and I-I think he's right." I didn't expect to be called sassy and it makes me laugh.
"Fuck Tweek, I'm not sassy I'm an asshole. There's a difference." By now we're only a block away from Tweek Bros.
"No, Clyde's d-definitely right."
"When have you been talking to Clyde anyways?" I don't really care if they've been hanging out I just don't understand when they would have done it. I've been talking and hanging out with Tweek constantly.
"He t-texts me." I glance at Tweek and he's staring at me shyly.
"Really? How's that?"
"I-Its nice actually. I'm not used to so m-many people texting me."
"Who all is texting you?" I ask curiously. I look back over at Tweek and he blushes slightly.
"W-Well, just you and Clyde. S-Sometimes Ken." He looks so bashful and it's cute as fuck. I can't help but reach out ruffle his hair. It makes him groan but I'm pleased with myself.
"But you text me most, right?" Tweek scoffs.
"How can I n-not! You never stop t-texting me!"
"You know you told me you missed me but I'm not quite getting that vibe now." We just reached the shop and we pause outside.
"H-Hey! I was embarrassed j-just texting you that!" His statement is pretty justified by the way he's turning red as fuck. I feel myself grinning pretty smugly. "B-But I did," he averts his eyes," miss you, t-that is."
I really want to kiss him again but I get the feeling he'd freak out. He looks up at me and as our eyes meet I get the feeling he also wishes we could kiss.
I never thought I'd be the type of boyfriend who would want to hold hands and kiss in public. But then again I also never really thought I was the dating type period.
"You know we saw each other this morning before leaving Token's." I guess that was like six hours ago but still.
Tweek is turning red. "Coffee t-time!" He darts ahead and pushes into the shop. I curse under my breath as I realize that I'll finally have to talk to Tweek's parents for the first time in ages. I'm disappointed in myself that I couldn't even avoid them for an entire week.
As soon as we're through the doors a delicate feminine voice is speaking. "Tweek, dear, did you come to visit us?" Mrs. Tweek is smiling at her son with a dazed look in her eyes. I slowly walk up behind Tweek who's leaning against the counter.
"Uh, s-sure. We're also out o-of coffee. Can you make me and C-Craig some?" Tweek sounds younger when talking to his mom and he looks almost nervous. I can't help but wonder why. I don't see where Richard Tweek is so I figure if he's in the back room.
"Oh goodness, we're out? That can't be. Did you look in the cupboard?" Tweek groans and his hands move to his hair. I'm afraid he'll start tugging on the golden strands but instead he runs his fingers through the locks before putting his hands back onto the counter.
"Yes," he shoots me a look over his shoulder and his mom seems to just see me for the first time.
"Oh, hi there Craig. Would you like a cookie? I just made them earlier. I even made your favorite. The peanut butter ones." I have no idea how she remembers what kind of cookie I like and I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped out.
"Uh, no thank you. I just ate." I didn't actually but I don't really want a cookie. By the look Tweek is giving me I think I made the right choice of saying no.
"That's too bad, maybe another time."
"Mom, I n-need coffee. Please?"
"Sure thing sweetie, what do you want?" His mom is turning to the grinder and already starts it up.
"S-Something sweet... Raspberry white m-mocha?" I know how to actually make coffee now but it didn't even occur to me that you could make something like a raspberry white mocha. I'm not very good at the whole coffee making thing. They all taste like shit.
"How about for you Craig?" I want to ask for the coffee Tweek always makes me but I don't actually know what kind of coffee that is. Luckily Tweek comes to my rescue and orders for me.
"He w-wants…" I space out as Tweek explains to his mother how exactly he makes my drink. I didn't realize my coffee was so weird and complicated. My thoughts turn back to my conversation with Ruby earlier.
I still don't know what she meant when she said we have something in common. I feel like it makes sense if she meant she also likes Tweek but I don't think that's quite it. Fuck. I wish Ruby wasn't always so confusing.
Something is tugging at my sleeve and it takes me several seconds to realize it's Tweek. His dad has made his appearance and he's staring at me expectantly.
"Wait, was someone talking to me?" I feel like an idiot as soon as the words leave my mouth.
"J-Jesus Craig!" Tweek pulls on my sleeve again. I step forward to stand next to him rather than behind. The counter hides our hands and I feel him reach out and fold his fingers against mine. The touch both relaxes and excites me. It's nice. It's warm and nice.
"Hello Craig, I haven't seen you in a long time. You've grown. You've grown just as coffee grows…" The next several sentences that come out of his mouth make absolutely no sense. I try to concentrate and keep up with what he says but it's nearly impossible. I remember when Tweek and I were kids Richard would do the same thing. But I don't remember it being so damn confusing.
At last he stops.
"Ah, thanks. Yeah it's been a while." I'm not really sure if that's a proper response to the mouth garbage he just coughed up but whatever.
"How have you enjoyed working here at Tweek Bros? I hope it is nearly as enjoyable as that first rich taste of coffee when you wake up in the morning." Richard is smiling at me while his wife continues to make the coffees. Tweek is still holding tightly onto my hand. It's all really distracting. It's hard to try and focus enough to talk to Tweek's dad.
"Um, I like it. Coffee is… everything?" I really don't know what to say so I'm going out on a limb guessing that if I turn the conversation to coffee it would please Richard. Unfortunately I couldn't think of any kind of metaphor for coffee and therefore got very vague.
Tweek squeezes my hand and his dad looks very proud of me.
"You're right. I'm glad you understand." His smile is so wide I can see his teeth. "Welcome to the family Craig. We're glad to have you here." He continues on for a few more minutes on his weird metaphors.
Finally the coffees are made and it's the perfect excuse to escape. Tween stutters out farewell to his parents then we escape. Once we get outside I check my phone for the time and fifteen minutes were spent inside.
"That went a l-lot better than I thought." Tweek says. For the first time I realize we're still holding hands. I don't think he'd even realize but I have no intention of pointing it out. As soon as I would he'd freak out and probably walk three feet away from me.
"How the hell does your mom remember the kind of cookies I used to like?" We're heading back towards Tweek's house so I assume we're just going to hang out there now.
"Oh m-man, it's cuz she's sick." I'm about to ask if she has the flu or something when I realize what he meant. "She sometimes f-forgets she's forty s-something. She'll just look at m-me and think I'm still a m-mostly normal ten year old. All week she's been thinking we've always been friends."
Tweek sounds sad and his green emerald orbs are focused on the ground. I'm glad he's still holding my hand but I'm also unsure of what to say to him. I kind of like to just pretend that mental illnesses don't exist, even if they really, really do.
"How often does it happen?" I try to speak softly but I'm not a very soft person. Instead I sound my usual bored self but Tweek doesn't seem to mind.
"Oh every f-few months. It'll last a few d-days, maybe a week. Then she'll j-just wake up and pick up w-where she had left off. And then it's like that week where she thought I was still ten doesn't even exist."
I'm not one for words because I'm awkward as fuck and I suck at English so I just remain silent. Instead I squeeze Tweek's hand and he returns the favor. We walk in silence for nearly a block until he speaks again.
"Sometimes I'm afraid I'll wake u-up and do the s-same thing." This confession is kind of like a punch to the gut.
"I think you'll be okay. If not I'll just keep making out with you. Ten year olds that aren't Kenny McHorndick don't make out. I'll remind you that you're older." I'm mostly joking around in an attempt to lighten him up.
His eyes are still focused on the sidewalk but now at least he's smiling.
Xxx
I end up staying the night at Tweek's and for some reason my boyfriend wakes up at only nine am. Therefore he wakes me up and now I'm a groggy eyed mess. Tweek always wakes up with so much energy, even if he only sleeps a couple of hours. I guess he so often gets absolutely no sleep that when he does it really does rejuvenate him.
Unfortunately I am not like that.
"What do y-you wana do today?" Tweek is pretty much bouncing as he makes us coffee. My mind is blank but I can't stop thinking about how happy I am that his parents aren't here because I'm too tired to deal with their shit. My second thought is that I want to go back to bed.
Sleep. Sweet sleep. I miss you. Tweek has a queen sized bed and it's so soft and comfy. Its way better than my stiff twin sized mattress. I'd be sooo happy if I could sleep in his bed every night.
"Craig?"
Seriously, his bed is like cloud. I even dig his ladybug pillows which at first I thought was really weird but now I like them. I'm pretty sure Tweak said he hates them because ladybugs creep him out but his mom bought it for him so he has to use it. Well, at least I like it.
"C-Craig!" There's a slap on my arm that makes me jump. The jolt helps me wake up and for the first time I realize Tweek has been calling my name. I stare at him blankly while he glares at me with a scowl.
"What?" My boyfriend frowns but quickly enough it turns into a smile and he laughs.
"You look l-like me!"
"What? What does that mean?" He keeps giggling as he grabs the pot of coffee and starts pouring it into two mugs. One of them is a Disneyland one that makes me think of the fact that Tweek has ridden space mountain and I'm all jealous again.
"You're eyes," he points out. "You h-have bags and you look like a z-zombie."
"Well that's what happens when you sleep three hours you jackass. Thanks for waking me up."
"I w-was bored! Last time you got a-angry when I didn't wake you u-up."
"After I slept twelve fucking hours! There's quite a difference between the two." I take a large swallow of coffee as Tweek laughs.
"W-Well, what do you w-want to do?"
"I want to watch a movie." And fall asleep… "On a huge ass TV."
"But Craig, I don't h-have a giant TV." Blonde hair tips back as he chugs the rest of his coffee.
"Yeah but we have one rich ass friend who does." I take another swallow of my coffee then hand it over to Tweek.
"You want t-to go over to Token's just to w-watch a movie?" I yawn and nod at the same time.
"Hell yeah, I do it all the time." Tweek finishes off my coffee and sets both mugs down by the sink. He starts to lead the way back up to his room and I follow obediently.
"Jesus you're s-so weird."
"I like movies. Don't be a jerk. I'll text Token to tell him we're borrowing his basement. Hurry up and put on some pants!"
"J-Jesus Christ Craig!"
XXX
Turns out Token and his parents weren't even home. He had texted me back saying he didn't care and so my last four hours were spent watching movies with Tweek.
My boyfriend likes cartoons and those idyllic, feel-good, movies so we just finished watching The Little Mermaid. The blonde is trying to convince me that the next movie we have to watch is that one Atlantis movie but I've never seen that on and it looks weird.
"It has a n-nerdy main character! He's all skinny and n-not prince-y!"
"But you're gay. Don't you want a shining prince or something?" I continue to sort through the hundreds of movies as Tweek groans in agony.
"How do you e-even know I'm gay, huh?" I glance at the blonde and snicker as he blushes.
"Wow I don't know. It's almost like you're dating a guy." To justify my point I lean backwards and briefly kiss Tweek. He pushes me away but I was already starting to move away from him.
"Y-Yeah but I could be bi, or pansexual, or something. I-It's rude to j-jump to conclusions you know." Tweek picks up the Atlantis movie and starts fiddling with it.
"Okay Tweek, are you bi, or pansexual, or something?" It's painfully obvious that I'm teasing but the blonde just continues to get redder and redder.
"Well n-no," he murmurs.
"Then you want your prince. Don't worry, I'm hot enough to be royalty. Go ahead and be my damsel in distress."
Abruptly the scrawny teen jumps up and throws the movie down. His face is set and determined as he presses his fist to his chest. "No w-way! I'm the prince and you're m-my princess! I'll save you!"
Of course with our luck this also happens to be the moment that Token would walk into the movie room. Following behind him is a red eyed Clyde. They both stop walking to stare at us blankly. Tweek's back is to them so he has yet to notice that they're there.
"I'll rescue you f-from the evil Queen Token-ia and slay the w-wicked witch Clyde-etta!" I can't keep it in anymore and I laugh at the sour expression on Token and Clyde's face. Tweek's grinning and I can't wait for him to realize we have an audience.
"Well Tweek, I guess I'm at least pleased you at least made me a Queen," Token calmly states.
Tweek screams and I swear he jumps like a foot into the air. He turns around and from behind I can see that his ears are bright red. His thin fingers weave into his hair as he scrambles backwards. He bumps into me as he stands up and I carefully detangle his grip from his blonde locks.
"J-Jesus Christ!"
"Tweek, it hurts, why am I the wicked witch? Witches are ugly. I'm not ugly. I'm cute as fuck." Clyde is pouting and with how red his eyes already are it looks like he's going to cry. Actually, it looks like he has been crying.
"I d-don't know what you're talking a-about!" Tweek 'eeps' and pushes me in front of him so that he can hide. God he's adorable but I'm a little worried about Clyde.
"What's going on dude?" At my question Clyde starts blubbering and the water works returns. Clyde's a real ugly crier. His face gets all red and puffy. Not to mention his nose runs like a fucking faucet. It's unfortunate too, considering how much of a cry baby Clyde is.
The brunette throws himself onto the couch and I feel Tweek grab onto my shirt. Seeing Clyde cry is probably making him panic. I reach behind me and grab his hand. I give it a reassuring squeeze that he mimics. Honestly Clyde cries all the time and it's rare that it's over anything important.
I mean just last week he was crying because he accidentally drowned his favorite house plant.
"Apparently him and Bebe got into a fight," Token explains. I pull Tweek over to the unoccupied couch and Token sits down next to Clyde who is still sprawled out and crying.
"Over what?" Tweek is pulling out his phone and I wonder if he's going to text Bebe.
"Vhe's going to dreak hup with meef!"
"What the hell did you guys fight about this time?!" Clyde makes a dying cow noise instead of answering my question.
"What will make you feel better?" Token asks Clyde. The brunette stops crying and peeks over his shoulder.
"...Shopping," he admits. He sounds like a pitiful child. I groan and from beside me Tweek giggles. I glance at him as he covers his mouth with his hand nervously. He glances at me and shakes his head slightly.
"Well how about this, school starts soon so we'll go school supply shopping."
Clyde jumps off the couch and he's smiling. Sometimes I wonder if the dickwad is actually smart enough to manipulate people. It'd explain so much.
With a heavy sigh Token pushes himself off the couch. Both Tweek and I haven't moved an inch so both of our friends stare at us expectantly.
"Are you coming?" Mama Token practically snaps. Tweek grunts and I shake my head.
"Um no. Excuse you, you interrupted our movie marathon. You're being rude as fuck. Just hurry up and go."
"Your princess marathon!" Clyde exclaims. He points an accusing finger at our twitchy friend. "I'm still angry at you! I am not a wicked witch."
"Ack! I'm s-sorry!"
"You two spend enough time with each other. You have to come shopping with us," I open my mouth to speak but Token interrupts me. "Because I said so Craig, don't complain. I'm going to fucking buy all your school shit so shut up and let's go."
There's no room for arguing so reluctantly I stand up. I feel like a scolded child and from the look on Tweek's face so does he.
"Where are we going?" I ask as we all file out of the basement and walk through Token's kitchen. His parents are standing in the kitchen talking casually as Mrs. Black cooks.
"Oh hello Craig, Clyde…" she pauses as she stares at Tweek for a moment. Then she smiles softly. "And Tweek. What are you boys up to?"
"I was just going to take the kids school shopping," Mama Token informs his mother who's my grandmother.
"Alright. Try to be home for dinner, it'll probably be around seven. You boys are welcome to stay for it too."
"Will do, thanks Mrs. Black!" Clyde always gets super enthusiastic when it comes to food.
"You boys make sure to get everything you need. Don't be shy." Mr. Token informs us with a smile. Tweek makes this soft whimpering noise that I'm sure no one besides me can hear. I remember Tweek texted me saying something about rich adults intimidate the fuck out of him.
I step closer to him so that our arms are 'casually' pressed together.
Everyone says their goodbyes and finally we're out the front door. As soon as we're one foot out the door Clyde claims shotgun. The idiot even makes a run for the car to claim the seat. I can honestly care less because I want to sit in the back with Tweek anyway.
"Where do you leeches want to go?" Token asks as he starts the car.
"That's no way to talk to your children dickwad."
"The mall! Let's go to the mall!" Clyde exclaims as he practically jumps in his seat.
"Oh m-man," Tweek groans.
"What?" I ask him as the other two continue to talk.
"I don't l-like malls!" Everyone hears Tweek and laughs.
"Yeah but Token spoils us and will buy us things! He only does this like twice a year so you gotta cherish it!"
"Well Clyde, I'm glad you appreciate it," Token says after he scoffs. "We can get coffee at the mall, Tweek."
The blonde smiles and Token returns the gesture. "O-Okay!"
It doesn't take long to get to the North Park mall and just as quickly we all pile out of Token's fancy ass car. Clyde sprints to the front doors and from a distance away he shouts at us to hurry up.
"Okay but seriously, did he really get into a fight with Bebe? He seems way too happy." I point out. Token slows so that he's walking besides me.
"They g-got into a fight," Tweek confirms. He's still fiddling with this flip phone in his hands.
"About what?"
"I'm not t-telling! It's a secret! J-Jesus! I'm not just g-gonna spill everyone's secrets!" Tweek glares at us and I'm overwhelmed with the urge to touch him. So I reach out and ruffle his hair. The blonde groans but doesn't seem to mind all that much.
"Chill Tweek, it's fine. Clyde caves and tells us everything. At least he's not still crying over it."
"You guys hurry up!" Clyde screams. His screaming does nothing as the rest of us continue to take our sweet ass time. When we do finally catch up with him he grabs Token's wrist and starts dragging him inside.
"I'm gonna buy a slick ass pen. All the girls are gonna want to use it." I overhear Clyde tell Token.
I turn to Tweek and give him a look. He's already giggling.
"Should I buy a slick ass pen? I'll seduce the fuck out of you." Tweek laughs and I catch a glimpse of an older woman staring at me while looking horrified. I'm assuming she overheard me and it makes me smirk.
I actually take pride out of scaring the shit out of people. Like literal shit. That'd be the best.
"I think s-so. Without that pen y-you'll just lose your c-charm man. I might have to date C-Clyde. It's all about that pen."
Clyde has this magical power of being able to hear his name, no matter where he is. One time I was in the basement at Token's while Clyde was in the bathroom and he still heard me. It's handy as fuck but also annoying as fuck. Like - I don't want to talk to you Clyde, I want to talk about you. Go away.
This happened to be one of those moments. Even though Clyde and Token are twenty feet, and a giant swarm of people away he still manages to hear Tweek and drags Token over to us.
The brunette is still bouncing. For fucks sake. "What'd you say Tweek? Something about my beautiful ass?"
"Yes Clyde, Tweek worships your ass." Tweek gasps and shoots me a glare.
"L-Liar!"
Clyde ignores Tweek and starts insisting we go check out the fancy ass office supply store. As soon as we enter Clyde is already grabbing at every shining thing. Token wanders off to find his own supplies and it leaves just Tweek and I alone.
"Come on, grab what you need." I pick up a basket and hook it over my elbow.
"I d-didn't bring my money?"
"Token's got it covered dude. We've been doing this since like sixth grade. It's tradition. I'm pretty sure Token will get offended if you don't get any shit." We enter down the aisle with pens and pencils. Tweek comes to a stop in front of the gel pens and studies it closely. "It's not that hard dude. Just pick one."
"B-But what if I pick the wrong one? They can h-have bad little hand grip t-things."
"Get that kind, it's my favorite." I grab the pens for Tweek and toss them in the basket. Then I grab another pack for myself.
"Jesus! O-Okay." He reaches out and tugs at the edge of my jacket. We continue down the aisles and grab things while we go.
"We're gonna pick up our schedules together, right?"
"Y-Yeah ma-" Tweek is interrupted by a loud crash. Two familiar voices start shouting and I turn around in time to see an entire aisle of shelves tip slightly. The raised platforms of each shelf collapses and it's a deafening sound as all the products hit the ground.
Of course the culprit of this mess is Clyde Donovan; idiot extraordinaire. We've been here for less than five minutes. Just… how?
Tweek is clinging to me and Token looks embarrassed. Three employees coming from all different directions run to the aisle, to see what's going on. We watch Token and Clyde talk to the employees. To no one's surprise Clyde starts crying.
"J-Jesus Christ! They could have died m-man!"
"You know, I don't think so. Clyde is too dumb to die." Tweek scoffs.
"That doesn't even m-make sense."
"Sure it does. Just keep watching Clyde for a while and you'll understand. Let's hurry up and
finish here. I don't even want to be associated with that dumbass." Tweek giggles and we turn
away from the rest of our friends to go collect the rest of the supplies we'd need.
By the time Tweek and I were finished casually shopping at fancy office supply store Token and
Clyde had just finished dealing with the whole shelf fiasco. Rather than wait for them to finish their own shopping I dumped my basket of stuff on them and Tweek and I left.
"Where to next?" I ask the blonde. The mall has gotten a bit busier and we have to walk close together to make our way through the crowds. There's a ton of kids with their parents so I'm assuming that it's other families also doing their school shopping.
"I'm p – pretty sure I was promised c-coffee." He points out, giving me a nervous look. For the first time I realize how nervous and panicked he looks. He's shaking more than usual and his pupils are so small they're barely visible. Out of habit I reach out and grab his hand.
With a shriek he jumps and yanks away from me. I feel dumb because I know he isn't comfortable with acting together in public but I still tried to hold his hand. Tweek stops walking so I stop too. There are quite a few people staring at us. I'm figuring he's freaked out that I tried to hold my hand but he's not looking at me.
He's staring straight ahead at a woman with long blonde hair. She's holding the hand of a little girl with brown hair. They don't seem to have noticed him, whoever they are.
He doesn't look good. His breathing is short and rapid. I think he might be starting to have a panic attack. This feels like we're back at my house on Saturday morning all over again. The memory of seeing his arms makes my stomach pinch with anxiety.
Whenever I think of that moment I still don't know how I should feel. I like Tweek. I really, really do. But he's also kind of triggering. I guess I was so focused on getting over my own self harm problem that not once have I ever considered that anyone else in South Park might have the same problem. Sometimes I forget I'm not the only one around here who's fucked up.
It turns out the random twitchy kid I was best friends with in elementary school would also be the one person I'd have more in common with that I ever thought. The biggest difference is while I've for the most part have recovered he has not. Now I'm supposed to help him. I want to help him but it's hard. I don't know how to.
"Uh, h-hey," I clear my throat and try to reach out to touch the delicate blonde but he takes another step away from me. "Let's go sit outside for a little bit. I'll have the others grab you some Harbucks."
Tweek nods and without a word or moment of hesitation he turns on his heels and storms off through the crowd towards the side exit. It's hard to keep up with him as he pushes his way past people. When I make it outside Tweek is sitting on the curb several feet away. He's holding a lighter in one hand and digging through his pockets with his other hand.
"Here," I pull out my pack of 100's and hold it out to the blonde as I sit down next to him. I make sure to leave a good two feet between us but as soon as I sit down he's sliding closer and pushing his leg against my own.
He's trembling so hard the he can't light his cigarette. I take the lighter from him and do it for him. He nods thankfully and takes his time to inhale deeply. With that first inhale he seems to deflate and is back to normal. I watch him but that anxiety I had felt minutes ago remains.
This is another new side of Tweek. His panic attack at my house Saturday was different than this. Now he's silent with pin point pupils and shaky hands. I'm surprised he could so easily push his way through a crowd of people. Tweek clings and hides behind people when walking through crowds. And-
Who were those people he was staring at?
"You okay?" I finally ask after he's smoked the majority of his cigarette. He's so close to me that our entire sides are pressed close and his head is resting on my shoulder. He's shaking slightly and remains silent. "Tweek, what was that?"
"I-I don't w-want to t-talk about it." His voice is hallow.
"What the fuck do you mean you don't want to talk about it? Did you know that chick you were staring at? The one with the kid?" Tweek suddenly stands up and throws the smoke onto the ground.
"I-I'm going h-home." He turns to leave but in a heartbeat I scramble up and grab his hand. He attempts to jerk away from me but I refuse to let him go.
"Don't leave. I'm sorry; you don't have to tell me. We'll get you you're coffee and just keep shopping and have fun. Okay?" Tweek is staring at me with a blank expression. The look makes me feel physically sick.
"I d-don't want to b-be here."
"We'll go to Walmart or Fred Meyers or something then. Please don't leave?" I feel like I'm begging him but I'm afraid of what Tweek might do if I let him leave. He's acting so strange.
Green eyes remain fixed on the ground for several minutes. Finally he exhales softly.
"O-Okay, but w-we have to leave n-now." His voice doesn't hold its usual energy and instead sounds deflated. I step forward and even knowing the risks I pull him closer to me and wrap my arms around his slim body.
He doesn't push me away but neither does he hug me back.
After I release him I call Token to tell him we have to leave now. When the guys meet us outside Tweek is still silent. Both Clyde and Token don't seem to notice how strange he's acting. As we cross the parking lot to get to Tokens car the two cheerfully tell an over dramatized retelling of what happened at the store.
We end up deciding to go mess around at Walmart. The trip went exactly how I expected it too. Clyde was an idiot, Token was rich, but Tweek was still quiet and expressionless. I've never been this worried for anyone in my entire life and the feeling makes me feel awful. I don't know what to do. When I end up grabbing his hand at the store he even lets me.
At one point we lose Tweek and after ten minutes of searching for him there's an announcement over the intercom. "Would the parents of Tweet Tweekers please come to customer service to pick up your child?"
Even that fiasco didn't freak him out or make him laugh. Clyde breaking the giant bin of inflatable balls and getting us kicked out didn't even get a reaction out of him. We ended up not really buying much more and after Walmart I ask Token to take Tweek and I back to the blonde's house.
Tweek doesn't seem to care that I invited myself over.
His parents still aren't home and the first thing Tweek does is make coffee. The house is silent. The hissing of the coffee is our only solace. I want to say something but I don't know what I should say. I don't want him to get angry at me.
Tweek usually makes sure to poor me a mug of coffee as well but not today. As soon as he has what he wants he brushes past me and heads up the stairs towards his room. After a moment of hesitation I follow Tweek upstairs. I really think he wants to be alone but what if he hurts himself? God damn it.
When I make it to his room he's sitting on his bed with his back to the wall. His coffee is resting on the top shelf of his headboard. His knees are bent up and pressed against his chest as his chin rests on the top of his knees. He's staring straight down at his bed sheets.
I remain in the doorway for a long moment but when the blonde remains silent I walk inside and sit down on the edge of his bed. For the first time I notice that his dull finger nails are digging into the pale flesh of his wrist. I'm not even aware of what I'm doing until I'm crawling across the bed and plopping down next to him. I grab his hands and separate them.
Even still Tweek won't look at me.
"You want to hurt yourself."
"I d-don't want to t-talk about it Craig." He didn't try to take his hands away from me so I'm taking that to be a good sign.
"That's okay. We don't have to talk about it dude. I'm just worried about you. I care, remember?" A slight tremor runs through Tweek but he remains silent. "Let's watch movies or something. Don't spend the rest of your summer upset. I'm not going anywhere."
"O-Okay," his voice is soft and has a breathless quality to it.
The rest of the night was quiet and almost awkward. In the morning when we woke up Tweek still had yet to slept but he seemed a little bit closer to being normal. The next day we worked and got high but he was still acting strange. In fact he was still acting strange through the rest of summer break and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't figure out who that woman and child could be.
