A/N: It's the second chapter… I feel so bad to leave you guys hanging, but I had just so much crap pile up in my life at the last possible second, so please don't hate me! Also, this chapter might make some people hate me because well… it's not really what you're expecting, unless you're expecting exactly what I'm about to give you, in which case, you ARE expecting the right thing. If not, then I am really, really sorry. I don't know what to say without giving anything away… I'll explain at the end of the chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own it, I've TRIED, but it's just not happening!

WARNINGS: The obvious ones, they're GAY get over it

CHAPTER TWO

I woke up halfway through the night and wondered if my parents were worried. They were worried about me half the time, and half the time they weren't. I didn't know whether I should be offended or pleasantly surprised they weren't strict like some of the other parents I knew.

It scared me half to death when I realized someone was next to me. Before I could scream, a hand that smelled of smoke was clamped over my mouth, and Kenny shushed at me. Taking his hand away, he wiped it on his pants, and drew a drag from his cigarette.

"I just wanted to make sure you would be okay."

"Y-You could have woken me up!" I half shouted at him, even though he just shrugged up at me. "God, I thought you were someone else!"

He stared up at me, his hood casting shadows over his face. "Who else would be here?"

"…I don't know! Maybe some sort of maniac!" I glared up at him the best I could with my heart beating out of my chest, and him smirking at me.

"Well, you got him."

Suddenly, I realized why I was in the dark, hidden behind some bushes. "…Craig… Is Craig alright? What was that all about?"

"Craig, yeah, he's okay. You don't have to worry about it, dude." He flicked the ashes from the tip of his cigarette, and the ashes fell on his jeans. Kenny didn't care.

"Oh…" I said, I didn't want to push it if he wasn't going to tell me. I hate it when people ask me what's wrong when I don't feel like talking. "But you know, thanks for earlier…" I trailed off, feeling a bit silly and awkward. I flushed at Kenny's obvious indifference.

He tapped his cigarette again and the powdery ashes fell to the floor in soft little wisps of gray. I shivered. I hated the cold and I wanted it to die. My arms felt like they were icicles and I could have sworn that my bones were turning into dust as we spoke. I tried to ignore it.

"You cold, Tweek?" Kenny asked me. I shivered and nodded, teeth chattering. He looked like he was going to laugh at me for a second (and wouldn't be the first one to do it) but then pulled off his hoodie and handed it to me. "Don't die now."

I gave him a "are you sure?" sort of look, and he nodded. I pulled it over and it smelled nice. I don't know what I was expecting, but it smelled like soap, and something a bit smoky, probably from all those cigarettes. I smiled at him in thanks, and he smiled back awkwardly like he wasn't used to it, and rubbed his bare arms. I felt almost bad because I had taken his sweater. He was only wearing a thin white t-shirt.

"Look, we can't sit out here all night. Do you want me to take you home or something?"

I blinked at him. "My parents are asleep."

"…Well, what do you usually do then?"

"Go to Craig's." I said. It was true. My parents didn't like being woken up in the middle of the night because they were partially insomniacs due to the caffeine. Craig always took me in. I wondered how weird it would be to go to his house now.

"You could come to my place."

I looked over at him in surprise. "Your place?"

The blonde boy nodded, looking a bit apprehensive. I didn't know why.

I flexed my hands a few times, feeling a bit strange. Normally, I would not go over to a strange boy's house. Kenny wasn't a stranger, but he definitely fell under the whole "strange boy" category because he was just that. Strange. Weird. He sometimes showed up to class really late and limping a bit and the teacher wouldn't say anything because that was normal for Kenny. If it was anyone else, she might say something along the lines of "Why are you late? Are you alright?" but she, like every other teacher before her, gave up on Kenny McCormick after the tenth trip to the Dean's office in the first week, and the constant tardies. So, normally, I wouldn't go to someone's house that had that kind of reputation, but I thought I was already late to go home, so I would just go over to Kenny's. "Okay, that sounds good."

He smiled at me before helping me up. My mind wandered to Craig once more before we crossed the train tracks.

Kenny's house was big. It was one of those houses that looked small from the outside, but when you went inside, it was big. It wasn't well furnished, and more things were broken than would be considered normal, but I didn't really care. I wasn't there to appraise his furniture.

He gave me a slightly embarrassed look as he led me into his bedroom. "Sorry if it's not what you were expecting."

I sat on his bed, and looked around in wonderment. I had never seen so many pictures of half-naked women. Well, I had never really seen any. I saw a sudden flash of movement and saw a little rat nibbling on something in the corner. I squealed. "I love rats!" I said, running over and reaching out for it.

It ran away.

I looked over at Kenny and grinned, feeling a slight spasm run through me. "I didn't know you had pet rats, Kenny."

"I don't." He said, but he was smiling. "You know, I didn't really get it at first, but I get why Craig likes you so much, dude, you're like so…" He waves his hands in the air, trying to explain it to me. "You know, so!"

In the back of my mind, I was wondering something along the lines of "Craig likes me? How much?" but in the foremost of my mind, I smiled at Kenny like I was seeing him for the first time. I noticed how he looked so happy under the flickering lights, and that I never saw him look like he had feelings before. I just thought he was just a quiet, weird boy, but here he was, looking for all the world like a normal boy. His blonde hair was almost getting to the point where it would brush his shoulders if he didn't cut it soon, and his eyes sparkled even in the dull light. He reminded me of glitter.

"Do you want something to drink? I've got beer, and um, water!" He asked me, brightly. I realized he was totally different from when he was just hanging out in public.

I nodded. "Could I get water?"

He left to go get some, and I got bored. I decided to snoop around his bedroom since he didn't have a television set or anything. I found some the normal bedroom items, like clothes and shoes. I found some pens and pencils crammed in his desk drawer along with a copy of a nameless book that I didn't find too appealing. I also found his journal, which I really wanted to read, but seeing as how he could walk in at any moment, catch me, and throw me out, I didn't. Then I found a familiar necklace. It was a gold cross that hung from a heavy chain and I pondered for a moment of where I had seen it, or if I had really even seen the same necklace before putting it back. It was then that I heard muffled shouting and noises that I would recognize anywhere. Someone was fighting outside.

I wasn't sure what to do, so I began to get nervous. It made sense for me to go and look to see who was fighting, but it also made sense that I just stay put because it was someone else's house. I was pacing back and forth, and just about ready to go out when the door opened and Kenny came back in. He held the glass of water out for me to take, and I drank from it even though I wasn't as thirsty now.

"Sorry it took me so long." He mumbled, and I muttered an okay. He wouldn't look me in the eye, and I suddenly felt nervous. "You wanna sleep?"

I wanted to ask him what happened out there, and why he was looking so roughed up, and if I could help him. I wanted to hug him and tell him not to worry because getting beat up was a part of life. There was a lot of other things I wanted to do other than go to sleep, but I just nodded at him. Things can't always be able me getting what I wanted.

We both decided to share the bed since it was big enough. He crawled in, and I awkwardly crawled in after him, my legs feeling cold in my boxers. I was still wearing his hoodie, and I hoped he didn't mind that I slept in it. He didn't say anything, so I just pulled the blankets over myself and just laid there. He clapped the lights off, and I closed my eyes.

While I was making the trip from a conscious being to semi-conscious sleeping being, I heard a sniffle to my side. I hesitated, but I decided to just finally hug the blonde boy. My hand twitched as it went around his side, and I rested my head against his back. Kenny didn't seem like he minded, and I actually felt happy as I fell asleep.

The morning felt like it came too soon, and I didn't feel like moving out of my safe little cocoon. I actually liked sleeping. It would usually take me forever to fall asleep, because I didn't like the process of going to sleep, but once I fell asleep I never wanted to wake up. The process of waking up was actually painful for me. (And people asked why I was an insomniac, wouldn't you become one if sleeping lead to waking up which lead to pain?)

I saw Kenny's blonde head out of the corner of my eye and saw him facing the wall. I wondered what he looked like while he slept, so I carefully turned him over so that he lay on his back. I won't be cliché and say that he looked like an "angel" or something, but he did look very nice just laying there. I frowned when I saw a slight discoloring around his eye, obviously someone had hit him there or he was recovering from another black eye from before. He groaned and opened his eyes, blinking at me a couple of times before sitting up and shaking his head.

"Good morning, did you have a nice night?", I asked him politely. My mother always asked me this in the morning, and I in turn inherited the habit.

"Yeah, Tweek, real nice night with you squeezing the hell outta me.", he grinned back, and climbed out of bed. "Do you need clothes for school?"

It took me a moment to realize that today was a school day, and not a Saturday, or a Sunday like my brain seemed to register it as. "Oh Jesus, I have to call my mom!" I half shouted at him before stumbling out of bed and taking the sheets with me. "Damnit, I always get tangled", I complained and Kenny just slipped on another sweater before laughing at me.

"Don't destroy my bed, Tweek, it's the only one I have." He teased, and I felt a hot flush making its way to my face. Not now, not now!

"S-sorry, but could I use your phone? Please?" I gave him my best forlorn look, but he shook his head.

"Sorry, dude, we don't have one here. Just went out a few days ago", he said, tugging on some jeans. "Just come with me to the bus stop, and I'll get something for you though."

I nodded and finished getting dressed for school.

&&&&&&&

Stan nodded a hello, Kyle said hello, and Eric Cartman gave a loud, "What's going on, fags?"

Kenny just shrugged, and I didn't say anything as I nervously met them at the bus stop. The cold weather outside made me shiver, and I hugged myself. "Dude, Tweek needs your phone."

Stan looked over at me in what seemed to be surprise. "Is that Tweek?"

Kyle and Cartman seemed to notice me for the first time, too, and I felt uncomfortable under the stares. Kenny nodded. "Phone. He needs to call his mom."

"Oh damn, did the little homos spend their first night together? How fucking cute, you guys, he's wearing Kenny's little orange jacket! In homo-language, that means they're married. Isn't that fucking adorable as fuck?" Cartman grinned lewdly.

Kenny glared. "It's not like that you fat fuck. Stan, phone. Please?"

Stan mumbled something as he pulled out a small flip hone from his back pocket. "Just don't break it." Kenny took it and tossed it over to me. I thankfully caught it because Stan looked like he would have had an aneurysm if I hadn't. "God damnit, Kenny, I told you not to break it."

"I didn't." Kenny said innocently. Kyle just laughed.

"Stan's just angry because we went out drinking with Craig's gang last night, and Clyde kissed him!" Kyle giggled madly. "Damn, it was the funniest thing I've ever seen!" Stan just dejectedly stuck his middle finger up at the redhead, but Kyle didn't' care. "Didn't you want to cherish your memories, Stan?"

"Whatever, fuck you, I'm going to go stand over there where there AREN'T any stupid douche bags!"

Stan stomped over to the other side of the sign post, and Kyle grinned at Kenny. "He's taking it well."

My mom picked up the phone on the fourth try and told me that she had to go because another shipment of grounds was due to Harbucks this morning. "But thank you for checking in, Tweek, you're turning into such a responsible young man! Be sure to come home later on today though, I miss my blonde little twitch!" she said before she hung up.

I handed the phone back to Stan, and he shoved it angrily into his pocket.

Craig was mad when he saw me. I was almost sure he was going to hit me, but he snarled, "I'm not going to hit you, Tweek." And then I knew better. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me, too, but that went away when he shoved me into the boy's bathroom and locked the door. I felt myself twitch and felt uncomfortable again because he was staring me down. "Where were you yesterday?"

Yesterday? "At Kenny's. Well, I was asleep in some bushes, but then I went to Kenny's." It sounded much more normal in my head. Craig raised his eyebrow at me which usually meant he was going to loose his cool and jump around.

"Kenny's. You were at Kenny's." He said in disbelief. "What have I told you about going to Kenny's?"

"Nothing! You never told me anything about going to Kenny's. Are you mad?"

"You were supposed to meet us at the arcade, remember?" I didn't remember, but I didn't want him to yell at me, so I nodded. He yelled anyway. "You remembered that you were supposed to meet us at the arcade, but you didn't. You fell asleep in some bushes, and then you went to Kenny's?"

"What's wrong, Craig? I just went over to his house. It's not a big deal.", I insisted, and he pushed me against the wall. The cold tiles sent shivers up my spine, and I felt like crying.

"Not a big deal?", he ground out. "Not a big deal! Tweek, do you even know what Kenny is? He's a fucking whore, and not only is he damn whore, but he's a damn fag and do you know what little fag whores do, Tweek? They take you to their house, and they fuck you, and then they leave you for dead, Tweek. That's what little fag whores like Kenny do. If you stay around him, he's going to kill you dead, and he won't even feel sorry for it."

I shook my head at him. "Kenny's my friend, Craig. He's my friend. He wouldn't do that to me!" Craig slapped me hard, and I cried out before I could stop myself.

"Your friend? You think he's your fucking friend? God, you're such a stupid fuck. You're just gonna go with some stupid fucking blonde who can't even take care of himself? You can't change him, Tweek. He's never gonna be your friend, because all he is a stupid ass WHORE!" he shouted at me, and I felt myself frantically blink away my tears.

"Craig, please, he's my friend. Don't make me stop seeing him." I pleaded. I liked Kenny, but if Craig said I couldn't see him, I wasn't sure if I could. Craig was all I had sometimes, and I think both us knew it. It was sad, but Craig was always there for me. Kenny, he was only there for one night. "He's a really nice guy, he even gave me his sweater, see?"

Craig gave me a disgusted look and shook his head. "Tweek, if you want to fucking see him, I'm not going to stop you, but if I ever catch you hanging out with him, I'll make sure both of you regret it. You understand, don't you?"

The funny thing was, I did understand. Craig was the closest thing I had to a friend, and he paid attention to me even when no one else would. I know I couldn't give that up for one night of pity-friendship from Kenny. If Craig took back whatever we had now, I wouldn't have anything.

My heart hurt.

I avoided Kenny three times today. Once during class when he asked for a piece of paper, once in the lunchroom when he smiled at me, and once in the hallway where he asked me if I was okay and I spun and ran in the other direction until I was sure I couldn't see him. Craig gave me a look of approval when I told him, and asked me if I wanted a ride home. I nodded a yes, glad we were on good terms again.

I went to the locker room to meet him after my last class, because he usually keeps his books in the PE locker room instead of in the other lockers outside. Probably because it was safer in there, and no one ever bothered to steal anything from the PE locker rooms. I walked in and heard some noises in the back, and I realized it was Clyde and Craig arguing. I felt bad sneaking up, but I wanted to know what they were saying, so I snuck closer.

"He's not yours, Craig. Just let him do what he wants."

"I'm not saying he's mine, Clyde, you stupid fucker. I just want… I don't know, dude, I just… Look, you just don't fucking get it, okay?"

"What you're doing is fucking sick, dude. Even Token thinks so. What you're doing to him is just sick. You can't just control him like that all the time, look at him! He's a fucking mess for crying out loud, and you're making it worse. You're always treating him like shit, just let him go for once! He doesn't need your fucking permission to make a damn friend."

I didn't hear anything else from Craig's side, except a few quiet mumbles, and I heard a locker door clang shut. "Look, I'm leaving. Just think about it, will you? I'm worried. This just isn't normal."

I hid behind a row of lockers as I saw Clyde walk out, and then I made as if I had just come in, and waved hello to Craig. He sat on the wooden bench, his head hung low, and he looked up as he heard my footsteps. I paused awkwardly with my hand in the air, the bottom of my stomach feeling like I was falling.

"What are we?" He asked me, his voice sullen and quiet.

"What?"

"What are we? Are we friends, or enemies?"

"We're friends, Craig." I frowned and felt weird saying those words to him. I felt like I had just signed some nonverbal contract, and Craig nodded at me, his face neutral.

I quietly followed him home.

&&&&&&

A/N: e.e;; what WAS that.. A little weird, right? Okay, I admit I always feel that way about my stories at the end, because I don't plan things out. I just have this general overview of what something's supposed to be, and then I just wing it! BAD erica, BAD… I just wanted to say, sorry if I disappointed anyone… I know I can't please everyone, but I so wanted to try… I hope it's good enough for you! TT (Yes, I'm having self-confidence problems lately. I'm usually really conceited) I AM NOT WORTHY! I've been feeling like I've just been spewing out total CRAP lately.

Anyway, I just wanted to answer a couple of the reviews here, because they were REALLY lovely, and made me cry joyous tears while drinking my hot coffee at five in the morning. I'm a little over-dramatic, yeah…

I wanted to thank kennyluver4, spamlord, and blackneontears for just REVIEWING, because believe it or not, it inspires me greatly… :D

To Vcorrigan… It's supposed to be the gang in high school. They did know each other during the elementary years, but it's just mostly about them in high school. I just figured people would ignore Tweek because they stopped paying attention to him in the show, but I just read way too much into things. You could have them be whatever age you want, but the story would make more sense if you read it with the high school setting in mind. Mark is not Mark Cotswalds… I forgot all about him. He's just a random bully, and my friend gave me the random name. I'm glad you liked it though, I read through it, and it WAS a bit confusing because my word processor doesn't know how to keep things the way I LEFT them, and changes things around quite drastically. ;;

Qindarka, you are FABULOUS. I read your review in one of my university lectures, and I received some dirty looks from people because I was squeeing like mad. That was just about the BEST thing anyone could have ever written to me, and it just made me ridiculously happy for the rest of the day, and my friend thought I was drunk. (One-track mind…) Obviously, I was drunk with happiness:D I hope this chapter please you, because if it doesn't, I'm seriously going to cut myself and cry. (Okay, I really won't do that because I love my wrists too much, but I might consider crying.)