So, what is it that Token saw? Well you're not going to find out right away. We have to go back a little bit so we can see what led up to that scene. Get ready to really hate Clyde if you don't already.

Chapter 14 – Clyde

Clyde was worried about Craig. He knew he said he wanted to be alone, but he didn't even want his best friend with him? He really hoped Craig hadn't heard his confrontation with Token. It wouldn't help his cause if Craig had heard him fighting with their friend again. And if he heard Token accuse him of knowing who the kidnapper was, Craig might grow suspicious!

Sitting in the living room of his house, Clyde wondered just how long Craig wanted to be alone. Would it be appropriate to go over and check on him soon? He really needed to know if Craig had heard the fight or not.

He got up and walked over to the window and looked out it. He was hoping he could catch a glimpse of Craig either in his room or the living room, but all the blinds were closed. Clyde sighed in frustration.

Screw it. He was going over there.

With determination, Clyde left his house and cut across the yard to Craig's house. He knocked on the door and waited for a minute, but no one answered. He knocked again and gave it another minute before trying the door and finding it unlocked. He carefully opened the door and peered into the living room. No one was there.

Everyone must be gone, Clyde thought to himself. He made his way up to Craig's room and softly knocked on the door.

"Craig?" he called, "Are you ok?" There was no response from the room. Worried, Clyde opened the door and went into the room.

The room was quite dark with the lights off and there were several fans blowing around the room. Clyde could see Craig laying on his bed with his back turned to him, bundled up under the covers. Cautiously, Clyde went over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Craig?" he said quietly, "Are you all right? I'm worried about you."

The only response Clyde got from his friend was a low moan. He leaned over and gently placed a hand on Craig's back. He felt him shiver beneath him. Finally, Craig gently rolled over to look over at Clyde. He blinked slowly up at him.

"Clyde," he murmured, "You're here."

"Of course I am," Clyde replied, smiling softly, "I would never leave you, Craig. I love you. You're my best friend." He adjusted himself on the bed so he could sit more comfortably next to Craig. "How are you holding up? You kind of freaked out yesterday and shut us out."

Craig shuddered. "I'm sorry," he muttered, "Just seeing that this psycho would even kidnap a handicapped kid really freaked me out. If he's willing to do that, who knows what he's willing to do?"

Shivering, Clyde leaned down and wrapped his arms around Craig, hugging him tightly. He pulled his friend up into a sitting position and pressed him against himself. He gently started rubbing his back in small circles.

"Don't worry, Craig," Clyde murmured to him, "We'll get Tweek back before anything happens to him. I feel like we're getting really close." And by that time you'll hopefully have fallen deeply in love with me!

Craig let out a heavy sigh. He suddenly pulled away from Clyde and stared at him, wide-eyed. Clyde stared back at him, confused.

"What's wrong?" he wondered. Craig got up, still staring.

"I… I… I have to go!" he exclaimed and bolted from the room. Clyde stood up, staring after him in shock. What just happened?

"Craig!" Clyde called after him. But he was already gone.

Clyde had no idea where Craig had run off to. Didn't he know it was dangerous? He had already almost been killed once! Who knows where the kidnapper and his minions were? What if they were roaming around looking for their next victim? What if Craig was their next victim? Clyde stopped in his tracks.

Oh no. What if the kidnapper had already gotten to Craig and was holding him hostage? Or worse, what if Craig was already dead!? If Clyde had gotten Craig killed he would never forgive himself!

Wait, no there he was, sitting on a bench by Stark's pond. Heaving a huge sigh of relief, Clyde walked over to where Craig sat. He stood there silently for a moment, unsure of how to get his attention without startling him.

"Sorry for running out on you," Craig suddenly said, making Clyde jump, "I just had to get out of there. I couldn't take it."

"Why?" Clyde asked, sitting down next to him, "What happened?"

Craig didn't answer right away. He stared off towards the other end of the pond. "I was just thinking about how much you've been helping me these past few weeks," he said at last, "Keeping me from completely breaking down. Helping us with the investigation. Just being there for me. At first, I thought you had some sort of goal in mind, but now I see you really do just want to help find Tweek."

"Of course I do, Craig," Clyde lied, "I would do anything for you. You're my best friend, after all." Craig looked up at him, his eyes shimmering with tears.

"Clyde," he whispered, "I love you."

Clyde felt his heart lifting in his chest. Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Craig's and kissed him deeply. He relished the fact that Craig kissed him back and he opened his mouth to let him in. He wrapped Craig in his arms and pulled him close to his body and kissed him deeper.

They kissed and kissed until it got dark out and the street lights came on. When they did, they broke away, slightly embarrassed that they had been kissing for so long.

"I guess we should probably be getting home," Craig pointed out, "I don't want my mom to worry or anything."

"Yeah," Clyde agreed, "Um, it's all right if I spend the night with you, right?"

A small smile came to Craig's lips. "Of course," he replied. They stood up and Clyde gently slipped his hand into Craig's.

Clyde didn't know how Craig was going to define their relationship from now on, but right now it didn't matter. He had finally gotten Craig to fall in love with him. And Tweek was never going to get him back.

After dinner, Clyde and Craig spent the night in Craig's room making out. Clyde was laying on top of his friend, kissing him deeply, ignoring anything going on around them. He was in Heaven right now, finally having Craig all to himself. He was vaguely aware of Tricia shouting something at them, but Clyde ignored it.

When they had finished kissing, Clyde rolled off of Craig and curled up next to him. He stared over at Craig, who had already fallen asleep. He smiled to himself and scooched closer, wrapping his arms around his friend.

"Good night, Craig," he whispered, "I love you. I'll always love you."

Clyde slept well that night. His sleep was free from nightmares and he dreamt that Craig declared his never-ending love to him. That he had forgotten all about Tweek, and didn't care whether he was rescued or not. And they were free to be together without anyone judging them. Like his dad, or Token.

He was shaken from his dreams and he grumbled as sunlight poured onto his face. Blinking awake, Clyde slowly opened his eyes and saw that Craig was the one who had woken him. He stretched and let out a yawn.

"Ugh, morning," he mumbled, "Why are we up?"

"We're going to school today," Craig informed him, "Stan, Kyle, and I signed up for some classes so we could try to get more info. I hope you don't mind, but I signed you up too."

Clyde put on his best smile. "I don't mind at all," he said. There had been a small hope that once Craig had confessed his love for Clyde then he would ease up looking for Tweek. It was a small hope, admittedly, but there was always the chance, right?

Following Craig out of bed, Clyde quickly got dressed and grabbed some of his school things he had left at Craig's house. On their way to meet Stan and Kyle at school, Craig explained to Clyde that they had signed up for classes with their most likely suspects, those being Mr. Biggleston, Mr. Johnston, and Mr. Adder.

"Is it just going to be us four?" Clyde wondered. Craig shook his head.

"I think Cartman is going to be there and I talked to Token and Jimmy, they wanted to help, too," he replied.

Clyde didn't relish the idea of seeing Token again, especially after that last argument, but he didn't say so out loud.

"There might be some other kids who don't want to fall behind on school work as well," Craig concluded.

Before Clyde could ask anymore questions, the school came into sight. He was quite surprised by the number of students milling about. No one was alone, everyone had at least two or three other people with them. Clyde would have been sure that most of them would rather be home than at school, but then again who was he to judge?

"Wow, there sure are a lot of people here for school being closed," he noted.

"Yeah," Craig agreed, his eyes scanning the crowd.

They watched as Kevin, Scott, and Jason walked by, huddled together and whispering about something. Several girls were by the entrance comparing notes. But Clyde couldn't see Stan or Kyle, or the others Craig had mentioned anywhere.

"Are they not here yet?" he wondered, "Or maybe they already went inside?"

"I'll send a text to Stan," Craig decided, pulling out his phone. As he texted, Clyde suddenly heard someone marching up to them. He turned around and immediately pressed himself protectively against Craig as Jackson and his crew sauntered up to them.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Jackson sneered, "The gay lovers. Or should I say lover and cheater?" His friends chuckled beside him.

"Leave us alone, Jackson," Clyde growled at him, "We're just waiting for our friends."

Instead of doing that, Jackson and his goons started circling the two friends, making sure they couldn't escape. Clyde felt Craig press harder against him.

"You know, I'm getting pretty sick of you two telling us what to do all the time," Jackson spat, "Walking around as if you own the school. You two make me sick."

"Excuse me?" Clyde hissed, "We're not the ones running rampant everywhere! Craig and I are just trying to get through this tragedy!"

Jackson opened his mouth to say something, but before he could someone called out to Clyde and Craig. They turned to see Stan, Kyle, and Cartman coming towards them. Jackson scowled as they approached.

"There you guys are!" Kyle exclaimed, "We've been looking everywhere for you. What are those douchebags doing here?"

Growling, Jackson said nothing and instead stormed past them with his goons following closely behind him. The group watched them go with distaste.

"What did they want?" Stan wondered. Craig sighed.

"To torment us," he muttered, "That seems to always be what he wants."

A moment of silence befell them, but Clyde quickly broke it. "Come on," he said, "Let's get to class. Um, where are we going first?"

"We have math with Mr. Adder first," Stan replied, "Do you guys know if Token and Jimmy are here yet?"

Craig shook his head. "We haven't seen them yet," he told him.

"Maybe they're inside," Cartman suggested, "We should really get to class before we're late. I'm sure creepy Mr. Adder will have a lecture for us if we are."

"And he'll be sure to record it," Clyde muttered as the group went inside.

Walking through the hallways was just a bit creepy to Clyde as they made their way towards the classroom. Even if he wasn't one of the ones who was paranoid that the kidnapper was going to pop out of every room, or from behind every corner, he still felt on edge.

Token and Jimmy were in Mr. Adder's classroom when the others got there. Mainly out of habit, they all took the seats they normally took during class, despite more than have the room being empty.

"W-We w-were beginning to think y-y-you guys w-wouldn't show," Jimmy noted as they all took their seats. He still sounded sad and a bit disheartened.

"Sorry," Craig murmured, "We were held up by Jackson."

They didn't get to say anything more as Mr. Adder entered. He already had his recorder out, making notes to himself as he walked in. He stared down the group in a creepy manner.

"Good morning, children," Mr. Adder greeted in a low voice, "I am so glad that you've all decided to go against your common sense telling you to stay away so that you can pursue the finer points of math. Let's get started, shall we?"

For the next hour, the teens sat in their seats, pretending to learn math as they studied Mr. Adder, trying to figure out if he could be the kidnapper or not. They did the same with Mr. Johnston in Chemistry and Mr. Biggleston in History. Mr. Adder was definitely the creepiest of the three of them, but did that make him a kidnapper?

After their classes were over, the group met up outside the school. Clyde stayed by Craig's side, keeping an eye out to make sure Jackson didn't ambush them again.

"So, what do you guys think?" Kyle asked, "Mr. Adder just get's creepier and creepier every time I see him."

"Boy, I'll say," Cartman muttered.

"We should probably do more investigating of him," Craig decided, "I think he's probably our most likely suspect right now."

Clyde had to bite his tongue from blurting something out and instead nodded in agreement. He was about to say something, when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. In fact, everyone's phones received a notification ding. Everyone pulled out their phones to check what was so important.

"Rebecca 'Red' (Last name omitted) was discovered missing last night when she failed to return home from cheerleading practice. Police are already sure it is the kidnapper from before and are investigating, but have not discovered any clues or leads."

"Oh, that's horrible!" Craig muttered, "He's kidnapped another girl! When is this monster going to stop!?"

"Huh, I thought you would be more distraught, Craig," Cartman commented. Craig gave him a confused look.

"Why?" he wondered, "It's not like Red and I were really close or anything."

"Yeah, but weren't you two cousins?" Cartman asked. Now Craig just looked totally baffled.

"What? Who told you that?" he shouted, "We're not cousins! We're not even sort of related!" He sighed and rolled his eyes when he realized something. "You know, not everyone with red hair is related!"

"Yeah, Cartman," Kyle agreed, "My mom and Kenny's mom have red hair. Does that make us related?" Cartman grunted.

"Ok! Ok! I get it!" he snapped, "It was just something I heard! Jeez!"

Before the group separated, Craig and Clyde stopped Kyle. "Hey, be careful on your way home," Craig said, "He still has one more redhead to kidnap, and it would be devastating if it was you he got."

Kyle smiled gently. "Don't worry, guys," he assured them, "I'll be with Stan the whole time. You don't have to worry about me." With that, he quickly ran off to join his friend.

As Clyde and Craig walked home, Clyde pressed against Craig's side, Clyde sighed. "I don't know why anyone would think Red was related to your dad," he muttered, "Their hair isn't even the same shade of red."

"Yeah," Craig murmured. Too late, Clyde realized his mistake.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring up your dad!" he exclaimed, quickly, "I wasn't thinking! Oh God!"

Craig gave him a small, sad smile. "It's ok, Clyde," he said, "I know you didn't mean anything by it." He put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Clyde smiled back at him.

"Come on. Let's get home before my dad does or he'll chew me out," he said.

It didn't take long for Clyde and Craig to start making out when they got back to Clyde's house. Clyde gently pushed Craig over and laid on top of him before kissing him deeply. Craig wasn't as into it as Clyde was, but he was actually kissing back. Clyde wrapped his arms around Craig's neck, pulling him closer to his body. He pulled away briefly to stare into Craig's eyes.

"I love you, Craig," he murmured.

Craig gave him a soft smile. "I love you too, Clyde," he whispered, "And I know that together we'll find Tweek and the others. And everything can go back to normal. Everyone can be happy again."

"Yeah," Clyde muttered, fighting to keep the disappointment and annoyance out of his voice, "Everyone can be happy." He leaned down and kissed Craig again, but it didn't last very long before the front door suddenly slammed opened.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Mr. Donovan's angry voice rang out, "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Surprised, Clyde and Craig sprang apart. Clyde's eyes widened in fear.

Roger Donovan was clearly intoxicated. He usually went to the bar on his way home from work, but Clyde hadn't expected him to be home so soon.

"Dad!" Clyde stumbled, "W-We were just…"

Mr. Donovan ignored his son and turned his blood-shot eyes to Craig. "What the hell do you think you're doing to my son?" he growled, taking a threatening step towards him, "I don't appreciate having faggots in my house, confusing my boy!"

"Dad, leave him alone!" Clyde pleaded. He quickly got in front of Craig as Mr. Donovan came towards them. He felt Craig clutch his arm in fear.

"Clyde, be careful," he murmured.

"Get out of the way, Clyde," Mr. Donovan hissed, "I'm gonna teach this fag a lesson!"

"But dad, I love him!" Clyde cried out desperately. There a sudden and loud THWACK as Clyde was struck across the face and he fell to the ground. Craig cried out and quickly knelt down to help him.

Mr. Donovan glared down at his fallen son. "Get out," he hissed in a low voice. Clyde blinked up at him, holding his face where he had been struck.

"W-What?" he asked in a tiny voice.

"GET OUT!" his dad shouted, "Get out of my house! I didn't raise a fag, and I don't want one living in my home! I don't want to see you back here!"

He picked up a near by vase and threw it at them, but by the time it hit the wall, the two of them were already out the door, running back to Craig's house.

Wow. That got intense at the end, huh? Next chapter will be Kyle, and we'll have that dance that's been mentioned.

Again, I'd like to apologize for how long my stories have been taking to update. I'm going through some personal things and my depression isn't really getting any better. I'm doing the best I can, but don't expect any updates for this story soon.