(A/n: Please enjoy)

Chapter 27: Bond And Feelings

Pip wanted this to be over so badly. It wasn't even that long ago when the game of hide and seek had started, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be found so he no longer had to participate. His current position was behind a large and wide dead tree, he highly doubted his presence wouldn't go unnoticed by the vampires. For all he knew, some or if not most from the opposite teams already knew where he was and were on their way to get him.

He was the weakest link after all...

His lips curling into a bitter frown, Pip glared down at the twig littered ground. It was just his luck Brendon chose the group he was in, merely because there were more students in this one compared to the other groups. Brendon might seem nice and caring, but that's only a facade. He's just as mean as Craig. Sadly, Pip found out Brendon's true nature the hard way, some classmates he had, they didn't even bother to warn or advise him not to get close to Brendon while he was getting chummy with him. He would've been skeptical of their warnings, naturally so, but at least he would've known. At least he would've been mentally prepared for the inevitable deceit...

Tweek seemed to be friends with both Brendon and Craig so it's probably too late for Pip to warn Tweek about the other blonde. Even so, Pip couldn't stand by like his classmates did to him and watch Tweek go through the same thing he did. Tweek had already been through a lot here, he didn't need to experience betrayal from...someone he thought...was his friend...

"We need to get outta here. I don't know how, but I'll think of something. It's better than staying here in this hellhole full of freaks. If he isn't better by the time I have an escape plan, then...we're escaping, with or without Tweek."

A heavy weight settled in Pip's chest, he raised a hand and lightly gripped his chest, frowning uncomfortably at the increased bitter feeling. He still couldn't believe that Stan had suddenly decided to escape from the academy, now that Tweek was a vampire he's dead-set on going through with it. Although Stan later told Pip and the others to keep this a secret, Pip felt obligated to tell Tweek. He deserved to know. He deserved to know that he was going to be left here. However, the problem was bringing it up to him.

Heaving a heavy, saddened sigh, Pip looked up at the grey sky, the clouds had darkened slightly. How had nobody found him yet? He wanted to be done with this stupid game already. Just when he closed his eyes, he flinched when he felt something cold and wet land on the tip of his nose. He opened his eyes as the rain drops fell to the earth at a gradual rate before picking up speed. He looked away from the sky with another sigh. "Great, now it's raining. Again," he muttered.

"Found you."

Pip released a startled scream, tightening his grip on his blazer as he gaped at the vampire that abruptly appeared before him. Giving him a blank look was a teenager with spiky, muddy brown hair and iron-grey eyes, he's a couple inches taller than Pip. The British blonde took a deep breath and lowered his hand glaring at the teen. "My goodness, don't scare me like that Nathan, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Nathan Crox gave him an unconcerned one-armed shrug, then slapped his arm. "Ow!" He cried out with a wince. Before he even knew it, the scenery suddenly changed in the blink of an eye, and he found himself standing in front of an ailing black shack house with five more of his classmates here as well.

"Surprised you weren't the first one found." Pip agreed with Nathan's statement one hundred percent, but he's greatly disappointed that they're to wait here for the game to end near this rundown shack house of all places.

"Why are we here and not at the courtyard?" Pip asked Nathan.

The dark-haired brunette shrugged. "I dunno, but that does make sense though. Brendon didn't tell you?" Pip shook his head. The reason he wasn't aware of this was because before they had officially started playing, Brendon quickly shooed Pip away saying that he didn't need him holding them back before he came up with a strategy and discussed it with the rest of his team. To say Pip was hurt was an understatement, but there was nothing he could've said or done in his defense so he went about his separate way. "Well since the teacher didn't tell us where the losers should go, we just decided to choose this spot," Nathan concluded, then he was gone, in search for more vampires that were hiding.

The quietness that followed was thankfully overshadowed by the rapid pattering of the rain.

Pip really wanted this to be over already.

*After Classes*

A tired Tweek is making his way to the cafeteria, in need of a snack to replenish his energy. Who knew teleporting and using telepathy could be so draining? Well, it probably isn't if you're not constantly doing them back-to-back for an hour. But at least he has a better grasp of the layout of this big building, Butters is indeed more tolerable to deal with than Craig and Clyde, and Brendon further proved that he didn't feel the need to be wary of him like Kyle told him to.

Entering the cafeteria, Tweek's mouth practically waters at the aroma of food wafting around. He searches for a short line to wait in, and groans at his lack of luck. Each line has a least five or more vampires in them with a vampire administrator monitoring them. With a sigh, Tweek gets into the first line and waits. Thankfully, not for too long. Once it's his turn, his luck dips down even further. There's not much in the eight metal containers, just less fulfilling foods. He settles on getting the last chocolate chip muffin encased in a plastic wrapper, leaves the buffet counter, and then walks out of the cafeteria. As he ambles to his shared bedroom, he suddenly remembers that he can get coffee to along with his muffin. He changes course to the teachers lounge, which is easy to recall its whereabouts since it's not too far from the cafeteria, plus it has a sign indicating that it's the teachers lounge on the upper middle of the door. Too bad the other rooms/classrooms don't have something as simple as that on their doors.

Upon reaching the teachers lounge, Tweek happens to see Dr. Kero walking out, but before he can ask him if it is okay for him to use the coffee machine, the old man speaks to him first. "Hello Tweek, may I ask you something? It'll be brief." Tweek nods his head. "That day when you wanted to speak with Kyle and Kenneth in private, did Kenneth happen lose his cool and damage my wall?"

Tweek sweatdrops, he didn't expect to be asked this. "U-uh..." Although that did happen, Kenny had every right to be upset in that moment. Luke could've gotten Tweek, Stan, and Gary killed that night. Dr. Kero picks up on his hesitance and sighs.

"I'd figured as much. Don't worry, I already suspected he was the culprit. I just wanted to confirm if it was actually his doing or someone else's before punishing him."

"S-sorry." Tweek feels bad for not giving him a straightforward answer after all he's done to help him.

"No need to apologize." Dr. Kero stuffs his hands inside his lab coat pockets. "Now, what brings you here?"

"Can I use the coffee machine?"

The old man looks at Tweek in slight shock. "Oh, so you like coffee too, I see," he says, then he notices the muffin in Tweek's hand. "You can go in and make you a cup." He walks away.

"Thank you." Tweek heads in seeing three teachers idling about - two females and one male - conversing with one another. Setting his muffin down to the side on the countertop, Tweek gets to work on making his coffee.

"It's best to add at least a teaspoon of blood into your coffee," one of the female teachers suggests after he's done.

Tweek tries not to make a face as he grabs his muffin and turns around. There's nothing he hates more than when someone tries to tell him how to go about making his own coffee. "I know, but I did that this morning." And with that being said, he teleports to his shared bedroom.

He almost instantly finds himself standing in front of the closed door. Just when he's about to open it, he pauses. He listens in on what one of his roommates are talking about, it seems he's the topic and by the tone of his voice, it sounds like they're having a serious discussion. It would be very awkward to go in at this moment and interrupt them, especially since they're talking about him for some reason.

"Tweek?"

Oh shit, he's been detected! Tweek teleports away in a panic.

/

"And now he's gone," Kenny says as he sits back down next to Kyle on his bed.

"It's for the best," Kyle murmurs, his gaze to the floor.

Kenny looks over at him, then down at his curled-up hand on the mattress, lightly clenching his own hands into fists on his lap. "So...about you and Tweek...or is it Luke and Tweek since he's originally the one who turned him?"

Kyle heaves a sigh. "I honestly don't know how this...bond thing really works."

"I'm guessing Luke doesn't know either," Kenny assumes.

"...I do...sort of."

Kyle furrows his eyebrows at his twin's uncertain reply. "He said he does, sort of." There's a brief moment of silence, Kyle unfurrowing his eyebrows as he looks over at Kenny. "He's going to take over and explain."

Kenny nods. "Okay."

Looking away, Kyle closes his eyes. A few seconds later, his eyes open and in place of lime-green is red. The silence that follows lasts at least several moments until Luke finally says something. "Before we talk about me, Kyle, and Tweeky..." Luke looks over at Kenny with a mischievous expression developing on his face. "We gotta get your feelings straight first."

"Luke..."

"What do you mean?" Kenny asks, confused.

"Oh, don't try to act dumb." Luke's smirk broadens as he leans closer to Kenny. "You like my brother, don't you?" Kenny appears startled and he can't fight back the blush that blossoms in his cheeks, he averts his gaze. "I knew it," Luke says as he leans back. "You can fool Kyle, but ya can't fool me."

"I switched with you because you said you were gonna explain our bond with Tweek, get back on topic or we're switching back."

"We will, we will so relax. You're curious to know how Kenny feels towards you as well, don't deny it."

"...Just don't force him if he doesn't want to tell you."

"Can't guarantee that."

"Luke!"

"So, why haven't you confessed to him yet?" Luke questions the blonde, but before he can reply, Luke speaks again. "Lemme guess, you didn't wanna ruin your friendship with him and/or you thought he didn't have feelings for you?"

"Tch, why even bother asking if you knew?" Kenny responds bitterly.

"I was just making sure your reasonings were cliché or not," Luke says. "And since they are, you've proven to be not just an idiot, but a pussy too." His last statement earns him a glare from hazel eyes, however Kenny isn't entirely angry at Luke. He's right after all. Kenny had years to confess his feelings to Kyle, years yet he never mustered up the courage to do so. Deep down, he was hoping his compliments and affectionate actions warranted reactions that indicated Kyle developing feelings for him or at least showing signs of him liking him back. But no such things happened. It was just wishful thinking on his part. "No need to feel bad, it's also Kyle's fault for not picking up on your advances."

Kenny didn't realize his expression had changed into a pained small smile, he looks down at the floor. "True, but his gullibleness is cute too," he chuckles weakly.

"..."

"I'm honestly surprised his ignorance towards your feelings didn't irritate you. I give you props for your patience at least."

"...Thanks," Kenny says plainly.

"Luke, I swear to God if you don't explain our bond, I'll-"

"Nag me to death. Fine, jeez." "Okay, so about this bond. Hmm..." Luke hums, trying to figure out how to go about explaining this to Kyle and Kenny.

"Don't tell me you actually don't know either," Kenny deadpans. When Luke doesn't say anything, Kenny looks at him again to see him frowning in concentration. After nearly a minute, Luke has his response in order.

"A bond can only be formed when a vampire feeds a human their blood, which is only possible after they bit and drank some of that humans blood first. That much we already knew." Kenny didn't know anything about that, but remains silent so as to not interrupt Luke. "Which is also why...it's forbidden, because unless the initiator of the bond dies, their partner is unable to be apart from them."

Kenny glares at him again, but in disbelief. "You knew this yet you-"

"I had no choice," Luke blurts out, grimacing afterwards. "But let's not get into that. There are benefits to forming a bond though, the most important one is knowing where your partner is at all times. What I'm mostly confused about is who the true initiator of this bond is. I know for a fact I did it, but...this isn't my body."

Kenny quietly takes in all of the information Luke just told him, as does Kyle. "Do you know where Tweek is right now?" Kenny asks.

"Yeah. Whether I'm in control or not, I'll always know where he is."

"So that's how he was certain Tweek was heading to the courtyard last night," Kyle thinks to himself. "But how come I didn't know?"

Kenny's scowl of incredulity doesn't waver, instead it strengthens in returning anger. "So you don't feel bad for forcing Tweek into a bond he knows nothing about? He has every right to hate you." He shakes his head at Luke's selfishness.

The redhead smiles sadly at the floor. "Of course, I feel bad. As much as I want to, I can't tell Tweek, you or Kyle my reasoning behind my actions...But I promise I will one day. When the time is right."

Kenny sighs. "The ones who really need to know are Kyle and Tweek. It's not really any of my business."

"You're friends with them both so it's only right that you know too," Luke says softly. "Well, that's all I know about a bond so I'm gonna give Kyle his body back now." He closes his eyes, the next second the irises are lime-green.

An awkward silence weighs down the room. Kyle straightens his lips into a hard line. "I'm...sorry, Kenny."

"For what exactly? For not liking me back, or for not noticing my feelings towards you?"

Kyle tenses. "B-both." He never felt the same way nor knew that Kenny genuinely liked him, he always thought he was just joking or teasing him. Not even Luke could get him to believe it since he's known for not taking things seriously most of the time.

"It's okay," Kenny says. "And it's too late anyway since you and Tweek are a thing."

"Which was against our will," Kyle says in a low voice. He stands up from the bed. "I'm going to tell Tweek about...our bond," he announces, sounding nervous. Kenny simply gives him a small encouraging smile, then Kyle teleports to Tweek's location.

The corners of Kenny's lips curve downward, his eyes dulling in color. He gets up and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

/

Just as Luke said, Kyle was able to pinpoint Tweek's whereabouts. The vampire teen is standing under the breezeway taking shelter from the downpour, staring at the fountain in the courtyard; having long since finished his muffin and cup of coffee. He walks towards him, it doesn't take long for Tweek to notice his approach and he gives him a slightly surprised stare.

Kyle almost rolls his eyes when he hears Luke laugh at Tweek's expression, he stands beside the pale-haired vampire. "So you overheard a bit of our conversation," Kyle says knowingly.

"Y-yeah," Tweek admits bashfully. "It sounded pretty serious. I didn't wanna interrupt you guys."

Kyle frowns guiltily at the ground. "Well, that's why I came to find you, to tell you what Kenny and I talked about."

"I know it's about me," Tweek says frowning as well, having heard his name being mentioned in their conversation.

"Not just you, Luke and I also." Kyle looks Tweek dead in his eyes, and tells him everything about their bond, and what it means for the two of them. When Kyle is done informing Tweek of their bond a few minutes later, Tweek has a look of utter shock on his wan face.

"W-we...have a bond?" He eventually stutters out. Kyle nods his head solemnly, his eyes back to looking at the paved concrete. Then it's quiet, save for the rain pelting against the ground and the roof of the breezeway. When the silence extends to a minute, Kyle looks up at Tweek and it's his turn to appear taken aback. There are tears streaming down Tweek's cheeks, his shocked mien hasn't changed in the slightest. It's as if he's unaware that he's crying. This was not the reaction Kyle expected, he figured Tweek would explode into a fit of rage seeing as how Luke is culprit of their bond.

Seeing Tweek crying makes Kyle's heart ache. He envelopes Tweek into a hug, apologizing to him over and over again in Luke's stead, who is feeling twice as remorseful. They stay that way for over several minutes, Tweek having not said another word during that time frame. Kyle teleports them inside their room, finding out that it's empty. Deciding to question Kenny's sudden departure at a later time, Kyle sits Tweek down on his bed, silently comforting him in his arms.

(A/n: I hope you enjoyed and the next chapter will be up soon)