There was a certain excited atmosphere throughout Harbucks as everyone prepared for the open mic event. Token had gotten a modestly sized stage set up in the middle of the shop, with huge speakers and a whole bunch of audio-visual equipment to boot.

Tweek and Clyde were in charge of setting up the tables and chairs, they worked together to make sure that the tables revolve around the stage allowing everyone to see the ones who'll perform in the middle.

Above them was Stan cautiously standing on a ladder, he was the one in charge of hanging the huge banner that Token had also prepared, it read "Open Mic" in a clear, crisp and attention grabbing font.

Meanwhile Butters and Kenny were inside the employee lounge; they were the ones tasked to prepare the posters which they will later post all around town.

Everyone was busy preparing for the event...well everyone except for a certain someone.

Craig was currently inside the storage room, he wasn't doing any business or any paperwork…he was just thinking, reflecting on what he had done and how to go about it.

Earlier today after a brief moment of courage, he decided to confront Tweek once more. Sadly it pretty much went like this:

Craig: So uh T-Tweek are y-

Tweek: Um I n-need to go somewhere.

And that was the end of that.

Craig wanted to apologize but he couldn't get Tweek to listen to him, let alone look at him. He didn't know what to do and he was pretty much running out of ideas, falling in love was a new thing for Craig, he'd never met anyone that he likes as much as Tweek. He didn't know what he was supposed to do in these kinds of situations.

"Isn't there anybody out there who could help me!?" Craig spoke out, His voice bounced off the walls, making him feel disturbed and uncomfortable…but then a sudden thought soon came to him.

"Kenny!"

Craig remembered the fact that Kenny had promised to help him, he was facing all of this alone when he could have asked Kenny what to do about it instead.

In an excited panic, Craig immediately stood up and exited the storage room, accidentally slamming the door way too hard that it may or may not have been broken...I'll just blame Clyde for that one, Craig thought.

Meanwhile Kenny and Butters were sat at the employee lounge's couch, Kenny enjoyed the fact that he's able to sit there normally and not be shooed out by a grumpy selfish Craig who wanted the couch all for himself.

Not only that, Butters was sitting next to him too, which was a huge plus in Kenny's book.

"Oh the posters came out really nice!" Kenny picked one up, holding it with delicate grip.

"You think so? Oh golly, what a relief…"

"Yeah, I am sure we'll attract lots of customers with it. You're really great at this Leo."

"T-that's a- ah uh...t-thanks." Butters blushed timidly.

"You'll be here during the event right?"

"H-huh, well yeah I guess?" Butters tilted his head in thought.

"Great! We should hang out! We could watch the acts together!" Kenny replied happily.

"B-but wouldn't you be busy working?"

"I'll make time…just for you." Kenny winked.

"T-that would be nice." Butter smiled back, a faint hint of red forming across his cheeks.

"By the way, have you ever thought of working here? Being a barista is pretty fun you know?"

"Oh uh...that sounds really nice to be honest. I am actually really fascinated with latte art and I've always wanted to try making one."

"I can teach you! You just pour the milk in a certain angle and control your grip...and then you uh...well it's easier to understand if there's actual coffee here to demo but don't worry I'll show you next time.

"That would be really swell! I'd love to work with Tweek again...and also with y-yo- uh I mean never mind...forget I said anything."

"With who?"

"Ne-never mind ignore what I said!"

Kenny stared at Butters, observing his beet red cheeks. He knew that Butters meant "You" earlier...and the thought made him feel giddy. Kenny wondered if his flirting was actually starting to work.

"Say...Butters." Kenny slowly moved closer, slyly sliding an arm around the smaller blonde, who stared at him in confusion.

"Yeah?"

With his free hand, Kenny grabbed Butter's chin and locked his eyes into the other boy's gaze.

"Do you like me?"

"Huh? Of course I do!" Butters replied, feeling confused as to why Kenny had suddenly grabbed him like that.

Kenny inched closer to Butters, close enough that their noses touched. The small blonde boy could feel the warmth of Kenny's breath touch his lips, it was surprisingly fragrant...smelling like mint candies.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I-"

"DUDE, I FUCKED UP!" Craig suddenly screamed out as he entered the lounge, causing the two blondes to flinch in surprise.

"Craig you fucking cockblocking piece of shit…"

"W-what?" Butters cried out.

"N-nothing, haha don't mind me…" Kenny awkwardly laughed as he let go of Butters and returned to the sitting position that he had before, his voice had a very obvious hint of annoyance which went by unnoticed by both Butters and Craig.

"Kenny, I fucked up...I fucking fucked the hell up."

"Dude stop saying "fuck" you're disturbing cute little Butters' mind!"

"C-cute?" Butters asked.

"Well...you are." Kenny clarified.

"It's all over for me man, Tweek hates me."

"Why the hell would you think that? What happened?" Kenny raised an eyebrow, feeling skeptical over Craig's reaction.

"He...he doesn't want to talk to me anymore, he's avoiding me!

"Why? Did you do something to him that made him hate you?"

"W-well…" Craig turned red, remembering the moment he kissed Tweek's cheek.

"Y-yes…"

"I honestly doubt that Tweek would be mad at you Craig." Butters spoke up.

"Then why is he ignoring me? He hates me! The one person I love hates me and...SHIT!"

"P-pretend you didn't hear any of that, okay Butters?" Craig looked at the small blonde boy, his eyes were pleading and desperate.

"Oh don't worry, I already know about it."

"Y-you do? Craig furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah, Kenny told me!"

"Kenny you absolute piece of shit." Craig flashed his favorite finger towards Kenny.

"Hey come on, Butters here also wants you guys to end up together, he's going to help too! Don't be so angry!" Kenny defended.

"..."

"You...do?" Craig asked, his voice sounding doubtful.

Butters nodded with a cautious expression, he was surprised with how Craig was acting. His initial impression of him was that he was stoic and emotionless...but now? Not so much.

"I am sorry it's just that I can't control my feelings whenever he's in my mind...I really like him so…" Craig brought his hands to cover his face, his cheeks felt warm, he knew that he was blushing but he didn't want to show the blondes."

"Fucking hell, don't look at me right now...Oh god, I am such a mess."

"Don't worry I understand...but I really don't think Tweek is mad at you Craig, Tweek likes you way too much to start hating you so suddenly. He's probably avoiding you for a different reason!" Butters spoke up, trying to cheer Craig up, unaware that what he said isn't really all that reassuring.

"I hope so…"

"W-wait no…I don't want him to avoid me! I don't want him to avoid me even if it's for a different reason! I want everything to be okay between us again!"

"What did you even do to him that you think is bad enough for him to hate you?"

"Oh uh..." Craig looked to his side, nervously biting his lip.

"Well? What is it?" Kenny pried once more.

"Oh you know...stuff."

"Just tells us Craig!"

Craig took a deep breath, he knew that if he didn't tell Kenny then he wouldn't be able to help him...and he really needed the help.

"I-I….I kissed him."

"What?!" Kenny and Butters cried out in unison.

"It was only on the cheek! I did it when I thought that he was sleeping...but I guess he was awake during that time, and now he hates me."

"Oh...the cheek? Well it's not really that bad...even third graders can do that...but still if you did that when he was sleeping then there really isn't any consent but...still I don't think it's a big deal."

"If it isn't a big deal, then why isn't he talking to me?"

"Maybe, it's just like what Butters said...it's because of a different reason."

"I don't remember doing anything else that's bad enough for him to hate me…"

"Well then maybe he doesn't hate you? But fine...let's say that he's angry because of that reason, have you apologized to him yet?"

"I wanted to apologize...but every time I go near him, he runs away from me."

"Hmm, I guess maybe it is THAT reason, well I can understand...it'll be really creepy if someone like you creeps up on me while I was sleeping and kisses me on the cheek." Kenny snickered.

"Like hell I'll do that! I'd probably get herpes from you or something much worse…"

"Kenny...you have herpes?" Butters asked in a worried tone.

"No I don't! What the hell Craig?! That was a low blow! Don't say shit that'll make Butters dislike me!" Kenny pouted.

Craig felt a little guilty for teasing Kenny, he was helping him with Tweek after all, it would be a pretty dick move to ruin Kenny's chances with the person that he likes. With a huge sigh he looked to Butters and attempted to clear things up.

"I was just teasing him Butters, he's doesn't have any herpes or any other disease; and besides...you'll still like him even if he had those right?"

"H-huh? O-of course I would! Kenny's really great so why should I hate him for something like that? I was just worried that maybe he's sick or something." Butters looked to Kenny and gave him an ever so sweet smile.

"..."

"Okay fine...Craig, you're forgiven." Kenny nodded then gingerly patted Butters' fluffy blonde hair, which confused the smaller boy, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

"Thank you, so anyway what am I supposed to do with the whole Tweek situation?"

"Hmm, well I think it would be best to just apologize to him."

"How will I be able to? He runs away from me every time I talk to him!"

"We could tie him up?"

"Dude, No! That'll make him hate me even more!"

"You're not a very kinky person are you?" Kenny teased.

"Ugh...you're not helping, Butters what about you? Do you have any ideas?"

"Oh uh...I-"

"I got it! Why don't you ignore him too? That way he'll be the one to chase after you instead…" Kenny interjected.

"What?! That sounds stupid and counter-productive."

"I know...but you never know, maybe there's a chance that it'll work."

"Ugh, well I guess I am desperate…" Craig sighed defeatedly.

"Umm, I don't think that's a very goo-"

"Great, it's decided then! You go out there and ignore the hell out of him!" Kenny pushed Craig towards the door.

"I don't really want to but...fuck it, fine I'll do it!"

Craig turned around and walked to the door, back in the day he was trying so hard to ignore Tweek and his feelings for him and it was a very painful thing to do. It took him a while to accept it and the fact that he's going to do it again...Craig felt a pit in his stomach. But if it's the only way to make Tweek talk to him again, then he'll do it.

He took a huge breath, reached for the doorknob, and mustered all the courage that he could.

"I'll be going then…" Craig said, turning his head to the two blondes sat at the couch.

"Good Luck~" Kenny cheered.

"Thanks."

The sound of the door closing echoed throughout the room as Craig left. Silence soon followed.

Kenny looked at Butters, let out a huge smile then slid an arm around him once again. "Whew, finally he's gone...anyway let's pick up where we left off shall we?"

"Kenny!" Butters angrily cried out, pushing Kenny's arm away from him.

"B-butters?" Kenny looked at him, confused with his sudden anger.

"Why did you suggest that terrible idea? That's not going to solve anything! That'll just make things worse!"

"Well I uh…"

"I talked to Tweek earlier...he wasn't mad about the kiss at all! I don't even think he knows that Craig kissed him!"

"What?! Then why didn't you tell Craig?"

"I tried to, but you guys wouldn't let me speak!"

"O-oh...I am sorry."

"I am gonna tell Craig."

"Butters, wait!" Butters tried to stand up but Kenny grabbed him by the waist, rendering the small boy unable to move.

"Kenny, let go! The plan you suggested isn't going to work…"

"No, Butters it will! Just listen to me for a second okay? I am sorry I didn't listen to you earlier but right now you got to listen to me okay?

"Fine…" Butters sighed defeatedly, it's not like he could move anyway with Kenny's arms wrapped around his waist.

"Can you let go of me?"

"You're not going to escape are you?"

"No."

"Alright I'll let you go, but sit here." Kenny let go of Butters and gestured for the boy to sit beside him.

"So how do you suppose that plan will work?" Butters asked crossing his arms.

"Well obviously, the two of them ignoring each other isn't going to help"

"Kenny!" Butters pouted.

"Well here's the thing...Craig, although he acts cool and stoic most of the time, he's actually the type to lose control of his feelings when something gets past his limits, so I think that he'll fail at ignoring Tweek."

"Then why did you suggest that idea? Isn't it pointless?"

"Not exactly...sometimes we just need a little push. A person may say that they want to do something, but they still won't do it, kinda like when making a new year's resolution; people will often say that they want to go on a diet or save money and shit but they don't really do it right?"

"I think the absence of interaction with Tweek will push Craig over his limits, and cause him to speak out all these pent up feelings. I am not entirely sure what Tweek's reaction to that would be but I think Craig's feelings are genuine enough to have sort of effect on him. I mean Tweek seems to like him too right? Not really sure how much but I think Mr. Asshole at least has a small chance with him."

"Y-yeah…" Butters replied unsurely. Remembering the time Tweek explained his feelings for Craig, Butters knew that Craig probably had more than a small chance with Tweek.

"I get your point now, I am sorry for earlier "

"Nah, don't be sorry...you were right anyway, it's a pretty stupid plan. Although it might work on its own I still think we need to do something extra for them."

"Something extra?" Butters wondered.

Instead of replying, Kenny beamed Butters a huge smile then whispered in his ear.

"O-oh…"

"How are we going to do that though?"

"We'll figure things out." Kenny winked.

Token looked around, inspecting every little detail of the Coffee Shop. It looked considerably different from its previous state. The addition of the stage being the most obvious difference. After one final check at the sound system, Token turned around to look at the others and let out a huge smile.

"Great job, guys! Everything's perfect!"

Everyone let out a huge sigh, they were tired of Token's nitpicking. Stan had to remove and re-attach the banner in six different locations because Token couldn't decide where to put it. Token eventually settled on placing it at the top the stage. It was where Stan had originally placed it...and boy did Stan want to punch Token after that, but he thankfully controlled himself.

"By the way I got the list of acts performing tonight, you'll probably see some familiar names...no actually, you'll probably recognize all of them, South Park ain't that big of a town."

"Ooh can I see?" Kenny spoke up. Token handed him a clipboard which had the list of people performing attached to it.

"Clyde?! Why the hell are you in here?"

The brunet's ears perked up as he heard his name. "Well since Butters and Tweek really liked my juggling act, I thought I'd perform it for other people too!" Clyde said smugly.

"Yeah...he begged me to add him there." Token teased.

"I did not!"

"Hold up, Karen's here? Seriously?! What the hell is she going to do? How come she didn't tell me she's performing?" Kenny looked at the list dumbfoundedly.

"Oh come on Kenny, let your sister do whatever the hell she wants. And anyway you'll find out what she'll do once she's on stage tomorrow." Stan spoke up.

"I-I just feel so betrayed man, I thought we we're close, why didn't she tell me about this? But then again, I guess it's more fun to be surprised by her performance…"

"Hey, Jimmy's here too! Hey Tweek, you'll like Jimmy he's a really funny guy! He's a part of our gang when we were younger!"

"Oh yeah, your gang was called "Craig and those guys" wasn't it?" Stan said.

"No it wasn't! That's just what Cartman called us, we were too cool to name our gang, and besides "Craig's Gang" makes it seems that Craig is the leader of our group, and who'd want that guy as a leader, isn't that right Tweek?" Clyde babbled.

"Oh uh yeah…" Tweek awkwardly replied feeling uncomfortable by the repeated mentions of Craig's name.

Clyde looked to his tall, chullo wearing friend, he was expecting him to react, but Craig didn't speak up once, despite the blatant bashing from earlier.

"Hey, you and Craig have both been in a weird mood lately, did something happen between the two of you?

"N-no!" The two boys denied simultaneously, as soon as they realized what they did their eyes met, Craig immediately looked away, with Tweek following suit.

Silence soon followed, no one really knew what to do, but with how Tweek and Craig reacted they all definitely know that was there was something up between the two of them.

"What the hell is up with this awkward atmosphere? Well whatever it is...I don't want it to ruin this event, so whatever issue the two of you have, you need to work on it, or at least try to hide it until the event's over." Token spoke up.

Another silence was the only reply that Token got, Stan who normally didn't care about things like such, couldn't stand the palpable and extremely awkward tension so he felt like he should say something to ease the atmosphere.

"Uh can I see the list?"

"Here you go." Kenny gingerly handed him the clipboard, slightly relieved that Stan had decided to speak up and change the topic.

The raven haired boy, took the list, uttering a soft thank you to his blonde friend, he gleaned over it recognizing a bunch of names he had known for years.

"Ugh, of course Dad's here he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to gain the smallest bit of attention...God, he's such an idiot." Stan pinched the bridge of his nose uttering a sigh in frustration.

"Yeah, I am sorry about that, but he was really persistent about it so I had to let him join." Token awkwardly replied, he kind of regretted this decision.

"It's fine, I just hope he doesn't do anything too drastic that would ruin the-FUCK!?" Stan audibly cussed as he stared at the rest of the list, gaining the attention of the others around him.

"What's wrong?" Token asked.

"I-I uh...c-can I take a sick leave tomorrow?"

"What?! But tomorrow is the event!" Clyde cried out.

"I am n-not feeling too good…"

"Dude, what the hell has gotten into you? You were fine earlier." Kenny replied.

"Well not anymore, I am not!"

"Is it because your Dad's performing tomorrow, I thought you were fine with that?" Token asked.

"N-no…I mean yes! Yes it is! I don't wanna see him so I…"

Before Stan could finish his sentence, Kenny swiped the clipboard from his grasp.

"Is it because of someone you saw in here? Who could it b-...oh." Kenny saw the last name of someone he and Stan knew very well and at that moment everything became clear.

"Well that makes sense…"

"Who is it?" Craig asked, slightly curious who Stan was panicking for.

"Broflovski…" Kenny smirked.

"Kyle?" Clyde and Craig asked. The mention of the name made Stan flinch.

"Nah, it's Ike, but if he's performing here tomorrow then his whole family would be here to watch and that includes...you know."

"T-that's not the problem...I just don't...I uh…" Stan awkwardly rambled, his face showed a sign of unease and panic.

"I am sorry, I thought it would be fine since it's just Ike...I guess I shouldn't have allowed him to perform." Token felt guilty once more, he had almost forgotten about the whole dilemma with Stan and Kyle."

"N-No Token, I-it's fine...they're free to do whatever the hell they want, my only request is that I'd rather stay behind the counter as much as possible tomorrow, I don't want to interact with the guests…"

"Oh, a-alright... Kenny and Clyde will serve them then, you and Tweek can stay behind the counter."

"T-thank you." Stan replied, as much as he hated to go to work tomorrow, he knew he had to because everyone worked hard for the event, and it would be really bad if they were understaffed on such an important occasion.

"It's the least I could do…"

Token stared at everyone and sighed, he was so focused on the whole event that he forgot to take in consideration what everyone felt and their own individual issues, although it's not like he could really do something about it that much, hell he just wanted to run a business to prove to his father that he can, but it seems to be triggering all sorts of relationship drama among his crew.

I didn't sign up for this shit…Token thought.

But even if they worked for him, they are still his friends, so with a sigh Token decided that he should probably do something to help everyone after this whole event is finished, it was the right thing to do.

"What are you thinking about Token?" Clyde asked, noticing that his friend was deep in thought.

"Nothing."

In reality he was actually thinking why he always has this urge to help his dumb friends, he could joke about how he doesn't care for them, but he knew deep in his heart that he does.

"Why I am such a fucking mom friend…" Token sighed to himself.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I am sorry if there wasn't much development over the last couple of chapters, but still I hope you guys enjoy this fanfic nonetheless!