Craig
The moment Craig walked into school a week after fighting Tweek, he was struck by the way people looked at him.
Before, people had largely ignored him, unless they got in his way, then they were pretty quick to move. Now, everywhere he went people stared at him with awe. Word of the fight he'd been in had spread, clearly. Even if they hadn't been there, people had heard what had happened and Craig wasn't sure how to feel about that.
He'd spent the last week in the hospital with Tweek, after all.
Token found him first, looking him up and down slowly before whistling under his breath and muttering, "Man, you look like you went through a blender." Craig raised an eyebrow at that, but he was distinctly glad to see the kid after so long being cooped up.
Prodding at his lip with his tongue, which had only just healed from Tweek's sucker punch to the mouth, Craig muttered, "You should have seen the other guy." As he'd expected, Token snorted.
"Jesus man, do you have any idea what's been going on? You and Tweek avoided suspension by this much." He demonstrated with his fingers before shaking his head. "And I know what he looked like after you were through with him, I was there. You two really laid into each other." Craig nodded absently, though privately he thought that the worst of it had been the words Tweek had thrown at him.
"I was pissed," Craig muttered, continuing his trek towards his locker, now with Token in tow. "Tweek was pissed. It worked out in the end." And it had, for better or for worse. He almost wanted to smile as he recalled the past week at the hospital, talking with Tweek till their voices gave out or until they fell asleep. Sure, it had been fucking painful to make it to that point, but Craig would have said it was worth it in a heartbeat.
"If you can call that working it out," Token said, rolling his eyes. "The whole school's been talking about it you know? Stan's gang is still pissed that there wasn't a definitive winner. Apparently, they had a bet going, now they're trying to figure out who wins. It's pathetic." Craig let him talk, content to just zone out.
His mind, inevitably perhaps, drifted to Tweek. The blond had been released at the same time as him, having largely healed up. Since then, they hadn't spoken and Craig wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about it. What even are we? Friends? Back to just being silent? It all made his head hurt. After thrashing each other, he didn't want the progress they'd made to be lost. If it was progress. If he wasn't imagining things…
After the boys had left them alone and Craig had first breached the silence, Tweek and he had ended up getting to know each other fairly well. He'd gotten to show Tweek Red Racer and had then watched it with him whenever it was on. The best part was that Tweek had loved it as well, which gave Craig a warm feeling. It probably shouldn't, but the fact that Tweek liked something he did made Craig happy.
Tweek, conversely, had filled the hours of silence with long rants about various conspiracies he had. He'd been only too eager to tell Craig about the Underpants Gnomes, a group of undergarment thieves who tormented him every night. His stories were so vivid, he often managed to leave Craig in a state of suspended reality with them.
It was funny, at first, he hadn't been too eager to share, but after Craig had shown interest, he'd opened right up. The Noirette had a feeling that people before had made fun of his ideas, mocked him for believing in such crazy stuff. Craig never did, he just sat there eating the bad hospital food while Tweek drew masterpieces with his stuttered words and wild hand motions.
There were the aliens naturally, Tweek was obsessed with the idea that aliens were coming for him or for other people. Sometimes, the aliens ate flesh, sometimes they controlled people's brains, but always, Tweek was sure they were real. Craig never told him they weren't, he just reassured the boy that they wouldn't come for him here, not while the Noirette was around to keep them away. Strangely enough, this worked to calm the boy down somewhat.
In that week, Craig had learned that there were also monsters under Tweek's bed, and if he didn't sleep with the covers entirely over him, they'd grab his legs and drag him down there to be eaten. In his closet, there was an ax murderer or possibly a cannibal and if Tweek didn't sleep facing the closet, they would come out and murder him. There was a whole host of things that Tweek believed haunted him, but Craig hadn't been freaked out by this, no, he'd found himself fascinated.
In the moments where Tweek was silent, Craig had talked about stuff too. Stuff he'd never told Token or Clyde, knowing they'd make fun of him for it. He'd talked about his obsession with space and about how he was going to become an astronaut someday. The best part was that Tweek had believed him at once, nodding his head and listening with wide, green eyes. When they'd gotten better enough to get out of bed, Craig had dragged Tweek up at night and pulled him over to the window where he'd pointed out the constellations he could see from where they were. It had been far too fun.
They'd never really talked about their parents or their homes. Craig could tell Tweek was careful to skirt the issue but he didn't mind because he was skirting it as well. It hadn't mattered, he'd still been able to talk to the blond for as long as they could keep their eyes open. Craig wasn't used to being happy, he wasn't used to actually enjoying something. But for the first time in his life, Craig had found something that he genuinely liked.
That thing was talking to Tweek Tweak.
Of course, now they were back at school and Craig didn't know how that was supposed to work. It wasn't like they were confined to the same room together anymore, no, they could do what they pleased. That being said, he desperately wanted to think that Tweek would still want to talk to him. Having such powerful emotions towards one thing was disconcerting for Craig, but he took it in stride as best he could.
After everything that had happened, he felt like he had the right.
"-but then again, I've only overheard them talking about playing it so I'm not sure if it's really a thing. Clyde would probably know better." Finally stopping his stream of dialogue, Token raised his eyebrow at Craig. "You weren't listening to a word of that, were you?"
"Nope," Craig answered, blandly, swinging his backpack off his shoulder as he got closer to his locker. I was thinking about Tweek, he didn't say. I was wondering if maybe, just maybe, I've made a new friend.
Reaching his locker, Craig was about to open it when a cry of, "CRRRAAAAAAIG!" distracted him. From across the hallway, Clyde ran at him, his arms wide and a happy expression on his face. A bubbling knot of resentment built up in the back of Craig's throat at the sight. "CRAIG I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH YOU'RE ALIVE!"
There really was no conscious thought that went into the next few moments. The second that Clyde was in range, Craig drew back his fist and clocked him across the jaw. Going over with a cry of surprise and pain, the boy landed sprawled out on the linoleum floor, a hurt and shocked expression on his face. At the sight, the Noirette couldn't help but feel infinitely better. Shaking his hand, checking to make sure he hadn't reopened any stitches, Craig stared down at his friend, expression still a flat deadpan.
"What was that for?!" Clyde cried the moment he'd found his voice, his hand flying up to his jaw. Token just stared between the two of them, a disbelieving expression on his face.
"Never fucking get involved in my fights again, Clyde," Craig said, flipping him off. Having said his piece, he turned back to his locker and opened it. He hadn't realized he'd been pissed until he saw Clyde, but now, he felt that much lighter. That'll teach him not to cheer on something that makes me miserable.
From behind him, Token snorted as he helped the whimpering Clyde to his feet. "You kinda deserved that one dude," he admitted, patting Clyde's shoulder in sympathy. And like that, the natural order was restored.
"I'm glad you're out dude," Clyde said, still rubbing his jaw which would no doubt show a lovely bruise tomorrow. "You were in there for forever! How are you?" Back to being overexcited as always, Clyde confided, "They still haven't fixed the window of shop class." Remembering how Tweek had sent them both crashing through it, Craig had to admit, he wasn't really surprised.
Putting his backpack away, Craig happened to glance to his left. Instantly, whatever Token and Clyde were saying faded into a strange sort of buzz because oh shit. He'd always sort of known that his locker was just down the hall, but until that moment, Craig had never quite registered that it was so close. No matter how much he'd stared at him, he'd never been more aware of that blond halo and crazy eyes than at that moment.
Tweek still had stitches on his face. One on his cheek, one beside his mouth, two more right above his right eye. On his trembling hands, Craig could see the stitches there as well. After spending a week in the hospital with the boy, he knew only too well that those stitches traveled up his arms as well. He looked just like Craig remembered, the only difference being the slight roughness around the edges. In that second, Craig froze, unsure what the hell he was supposed to do.
This was the moment of truth, he understood. Knew it as clearly as he ever could have. Craig could either go back to what he was doing and forget about the blond, let the last week be water under the bridge, or he could take that step. It would be easy to just let things be, but as Craig thought back to those nights spent with only the light of the muted TV to illuminate the room while they whispered about the wildest of things, he knew that he couldn't just let it go.
Taking a deep breath, Craig tugged at his chullo before stuffing his hands into his pockets and slowly walking over to Tweek.
The kid didn't notice him at first, Craig just stood there for a moment, watching as he scrambled in his locker for what he needed before tugging his thermos out of his backpack. Calming his heart, which was going far too fast for a normal conversation, Craig looked coolly at Tweek and spoke.
"Hey."
"JESUS!" Fumbling his thermos, Tweek spun to face Craig and instantly dropped the heavy container. As it clattered against the floor, the boy stared up at him, his eyes wide, his expression too fucking open to be legal. Craig could see it all, the fear, the wonder, the hope, the memories that they both now shared. It all played across that ivory face, right there for Craig to see.
And always, those green eyes, vivid and full of life, staring into his.
Very slowly, Craig bent down. Never breaking eye contact with Tweek, the Noirette picked up the silver thermos before straightening. Just like he'd always wanted to do, Craig proffered the container, handing it to Tweek gently. And when the frightened boy almost dropped it again, Craig pressed his large hands over Tweek's tiny ones, steadying his grip on the thermos.
Fear disappearing from those eyes, Tweek twitched to one side and breathed, "Hey."
In that moment, the wall between them broke. Craig could almost physically feel it give way as Tweek tentatively tried for a smile and the taller boy snorted softly. "How's your head?" Craig asked, his voice flat, yet somehow conveying some small amount of concern. He remembered how bad the lump on the back of Tweek's head had been and he couldn't help but worry slightly.
Letting out one of those perfect squeaky laughs, a sound the boy had been making more and more of late, Tweek said, "So much better man, you couldn't keep me d-down for long." Shivering in that way of his, Tweek's hand suddenly flew up and he reached up as far as possible so he could poke the bruise on Craig's forehead that was half-hidden by his hat. "H-how a- Ngh- How are you doing?"
Raising an eyebrow, Craig said, "I'll survive." He was still worried about the marks covering Tweek, but he felt better now, less full of needless energy. For a moment they were silent as if both of them were trying to figure out what they were supposed to do next, then Craig found himself blurting out, "Wanna come over after school to watch Red Racer?"
Blinking in surprise, Tweek nibbled at his lip jerkily before saying, in a small voice, "You really want me to come over?" Even as he said it, Craig could watch the boy's head fill up with his usual nervous wonderings, no doubt terrified that he was going to screw something up. The moment he saw it, Craig found himself frowning. "Oh god!" Tweek suddenly squeaked out, looking scared. "I- I don't think I can IT'S TOO MUCH PRES-"
"Dude, I'm not going to eat you," Craig told him, cutting off his frantic tirade. Smoothing out his face, he waited for Tweek's face to relax slightly before saying, "I just want to hang out with you. Unless you have something else."
"Gah! N-no!" Tweek instantly pushed out, fumbling with the top of his thermos before taking several large sips of coffee. "I mean yes! Yes, I would like to hang out!" Looking up at Craig, Tweek smiled again tentatively and the Noirette had the sudden urge to ruffle the boy's crazy blond hair.
Discarding the idea, Craig nodded and said, "Then I guess I'll see you in class." He gave Tweek a look at that. His expression didn't really change but inside he thought, After all, I always see you. I'm always looking.
As if he understood, Tweek nodded twitchily and squeaked, "Yeah man, I'll see you!" Suddenly very aware of Token and Clyde's eyes on him, Craig took a deep breath and purposefully turned around, walking back to them. Sure enough, the boys were staring at him, Clyde with a slack-jawed expression on his face.
"You're friends with him!?" Clyde burst out, the moment Craig was within earshot. Looking between Token and Craig rapidly, the boy asked, "When did that happen?" Craig gave him a skeptical look, while Token just turned towards the Noirette and raised an eyebrow.
"Yes Craig, you never mentioned you and Tweek were friends," he said coolly, not the least bit judgmental. Craig considered glaring at him for a moment, then scrapped the idea. He was right, Craig hadn't told either of them, but then, he could be friends with whoever he damn well pleased. Even if I'm not sure if we're technically friends…
So he decided to say that. "We aren't friends yet," Craig said, his tone flat as he walked past them and headed for his classroom. "You two should be happy, I stopped staring at him."
Like the mother hen he could sometimes be, Token instantly said, "Yes Craig, I'm very proud of you for talking to him normally. I hope that this continues, I'd be disappointed if you want back to just staring at him."
Clyde on the other hand still didn't seem to get it. "BUT YOU JUST FOUGHT HIM!" he exclaimed loudly, shaking his head as if expecting to wake up from a dream. "Why are you talking to him, you hate Tweek!"
"Clyde," Craig said, voice flat. "Kindly stop being such a dick for once. I can be friends with whoever I damn well please." He could understand his friend's confusion, but it still annoyed him mildly. It's Tweek, there's nothing wrong with him. It's not like I've gone crazy or something.
"B-but you're friends with us!" Clyde blubbered, his tone growing winy. Rolling his eyes, Craig turned around and raised an eyebrow. "You can't just leave us for him!" the boy wailed, looking up at the taller boy tearfully. It's not fair!"
"Shut up asshole, I can be friends with both of you. Now stop crying for god's sake." Considering the conversation to be over, Craig faced forwards once more and walked away, leaving Token to deal with Clyde's antics. They'll catch up in a moment. All in all, though, Craig was feeling pretty damn good. He'd talked to his friends, he'd gotten everything out in the open, and Tweek was talking to him. There wasn't much that could ruin his mood.
"Oh look, here comes the fag." At the sound of that voice, Craig felt something spark in him, the fire of resentment and pure anger. No, ignore him, it's not worth it. Without looking to the side, Craig kept walking.
"What Craig, too big of a sissy to talk to me?" Cartman mocked. "Hey look, look! Here come's Craig the fag." As other kids started gathering, drawn by the fat boy's taunts, Craig finally stopped. In his pockets, his hands clenched into tight fists. Don't look at him, don't give into him, he's just pissed because he lost. "What Tucker, gonna go find your boyfriend and cry on his shoulder cause your feelings are hurt?"
I'm not a fucking fag. I'm not gay and neither is Tweek. Shut the fuck up you asshole, I'm fucking sick and tired of you and your friends tormenting me. But in the end, that wasn't what pissed Craig off the most. No, all he saw in his mind was a picture of that bruise on Tweek's face, the clear imprint of the locker grate there for all to see. I'm fucking fed up with you hurting Tweek.
"Shut up, fatass," Craig said, his voice soft. Strangely enough, he was almost calm in his anger. It took everything for him to keep calm, but he somehow managed. You've pushed me into enough fights, I'm not letting you do it anymore.
Around him, a few kids tittered. Only encouraged by Craig's response, Cartman called, "Oh, so you think you can tell me what to do, Craig? You couldn't even beat one twitchy freak, Craig. What do you have to say about that? You're so weak." I'm fine, I'm not going to do something I regret. Except he wouldn't regret it would he?
"I bet you and Tweek spent that whole week in the hospital doing disgusting gay stuff, didn't you?" Unable to stop himself, Craig found himself turning on his heels to face Cartman. The boy was standing there, Stan and Kyle next to him. He was laughing, a nasty expression on his fat face. Inside Craig's head was chaos but he didn't move, he just stared at him. "You should be glad I taught him how to get on his knees so well, Craig, I totally helped you out."
It wasn't even the insults against him, no, it was the stuff Cartman kept saying about Tweek. Lifting his chin, Craig softly repeated, "I said, shut up, fatass."
"Oooh, I'm so scared," Cartman crooned, laughing. "Oooh, you're so scary Craig." The other kids were laughing now, joining in on tormenting him. Suddenly, Craig had an image of Tweek, how often this had been the small blond when they were younger, and he could feel his blood boil. Everything else around them started to blur as Craig's vision narrowed until all he could see was Cartman.
"You should have seen him!" Cartman cawed, his eyes alight with that malice that Craig hated so much. "He just loves to get on all fours Craig, I bet he bent right over for you, didn't he?" Shut up Cartman, just shut your mouth. "Didn't he just Craig!"
Craig's mind simply cut out. He hardly even registered what he was doing because he moved so fast. Before Cartman could even begin to realize what was happening, Craig grabbed the boy by the collar and slammed him into the lockers at his back hard, the action leaving a resounding clang rattle through the hallways. Even though Cartman was far bigger than him, Craig didn't even falter as he dragged the boy back and slammed his head against the metal behind him once more.
"Fucking shut your damn mouth." Craig said. It wasn't even a yell. His expression hadn't changed. He felt cold, too furious to even show it. All he wanted to do was hurt Cartman for all of the shit that he'd done over the past few days. Drawing back his fist, Craig delivered a fierce punch to Cartman's gut, driving the air from his lungs and leaving him retching in pain.
"That's for fucking making a bet about me and Tweek," he spat in the boy's face. The kids around them were screaming, all of them backing up in horror. Craig couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to them. He just dragged his leg back and viciously kicked Cartman in the groin, letting loose all that fury that he'd mistakenly directed at Tweek during their fight. "That," he said, still in that flat, emotionless voice. "Is for making Tweek and I fight."
Cartman's eyes were watering, he might have even been crying. He couldn't even cry out the pain seemed so great. But Craig didn't give a shit because it felt so damn good to see Cartman like this. Dragging his fist back once more, he suddenly shouted, "And this is for hurting Tweek for years!" He could feel the stitches in his arm tear as his fist connected with Cartman's nose. The snap echoed throughout the whole hallway.
He's not yours to hurt, he's not yours to push around, he's not yours to touch! He's mine! He's my fucking friend and he's my fucking spaz. As the fury suddenly came pouring out of him in a rush of fire, an almost feral sound escaped his throat as Craig drew back his fist once more to strike. He didn't care, he just wanted to hurt Cartman like he'd hurt Tweek for years and years.
Before he could strike, a screech cut through the anger clouding his head. "NO! AUGH! STOP!" Abruptly, something caught his arm, keeping him from striking again. Whipping his head around, ready to curse out whoever was trying to stop him, Craig found Tweek holding on to him, a terrified and wild look in those bright green eyes.
Unable to quite comprehend what he was saying, Craig tried to pull his arm free but Tweek had it in a vice like grip. Stop, I'm doing this for you! "Stop Craig –Gng- Please! Stop!" Through the haze in his mind, Craig heard a soft groan come from the boy he held aloft.
Anger surging up, Craig snapped, "HE HURT YOU!" It was all that anger he'd been feeling for days now manifesting itself and he couldn't even begin to control it. "HE FUCKING-"
"I KNOW!" Tweek screamed right back. As some of that haze cleared, Craig realized how badly Tweek was shaking, far worse than his usual twitching. He was also breathing heavily, as if he'd raced over there. "He's not worth it, Craig, please." Another tug on his arm. "Let him go, y-you've made your point."
As quickly as it had come, Craig felt the anger flee him. Mouth parting in an attempt at speech, the Noirette let Cartman go. Instantly, the boy slumped to the ground, moaning. Slowly, Craig looked around at the fearful faces surrounding him, the horror in their expressions. With a shuddering breath, Craig took a step away, letting the blond drag him backwards. There was blood staining his sleeve, no doubt coming from the stiches he'd torn.
Shivering, Tweek dragged Craig away from the crowd of people. No one tried to stop them, no one tried to say a word. Craig just stared at the blond hanging onto his arm, unable to think past the fact that he'd caused the fear Tweek was currently showing. Needing to say something, Craig suddenly pulled Tweek to a stop in the alcove of a doorway, his mouth still hanging open.
I'm sorry, he wanted to say. I'm sorry for scaring you, I'm sorry I'm a monster. You were wrong about me, I'm nothing but a monster. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm not good enough. But before he could so much as open his mouth, Tweek abruptly wrapped his arms around Craig.
Here marks the first moment that Craig would never admit happened. He'd bury it after that day, never think about it again. It was too confusing for his ten-year-old brain to contemplate, to think about too deeply. No, it would end up in the back of his brain in that dark corner that things like this that had to do with Tweek would start to take root.
"Thank you," Tweek said fiercely, his face pressed into Craig's chest, his wild blond hair tickling Craig's face. That was it, that was all he said. For a moment the two of them just stood there. Craig couldn't even begin to reciprocate the gesture, the best he could do was pat Tweek's head until the boy stopped shaking so violently and finally let him go with a shuddering breath.
"I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore," Craig promised, his jaw clenching as the pain in his arm starting to register as the adrenaline faded. "They're never going to fucking touch you again, Cartman's never going to push you around again while I'm here."
"I know," Tweek breathed. And even though Craig couldn't even begin to articulate the fierce feeling in his stomach that swelled up at those two words, he knew for a fact that he'd never ever forget it and he'd never let Tweek face the world alone again.
Fuck everyone else.
Especially Cartman.
