Craig
"I'm going out!" Craig shouted, half-way out the door, still zipping up his coat.
"No one cares!" hollered back Ruby from another room, which was true.
Shutting the door behind him, Craig walked down his front steps, gloved hands in his pockets. Feeling his phone vibrate, Craig pulled it out, checking the screen. [You still coming dude?] Clyde… Craig snorted and pulled off one of his gloves with his teeth so he could text the boy back.
[Yeah dude, I'm just grabbing Tweek] Putting his phone back in his pocket, Craig hustled down the dusky street, ignoring the people he passed. It was Friday night and after being ungrounded, at last, he was going to hang out with his friends and bring Tweek along while he was at it. If he was going to be friends with the twitchy blond, which he already was, he'd rather his old friends accept the boy as well.
Which is why, after much cajoling, Craig had gotten Tweek to get permission to go with him to Token's house and also convinced the boy to come at all. It hadn't been easy, but seeing as they'd spent the past four days hanging out while they were suspended and supposedly grounded, Craig had found plenty of opportunities to convince him.
He'd never had so much fun while grounded. He almost wished it could continue just so he could hang out with Tweek even more. He'd spent hours sprawled out on Tweek's floor while the boy scribbled away on his notepad, drawing one horror or another while he babbled on about his latest conspiracy theory. Conversely, Tweek had spent hours at his house, learning the constellations as Craig taught them to him while playing with Stripe.
Craig was still blown away that Tweek had remembered his guinea pig from second grade. It had been so underwhelming, Craig had hardly remembered it himself, but Tweek had and it had filled him with warmth. That's what the blond did though he made Craig feel like the world might not be quite as shitty as he'd once suspected it was.
Turning down Tweek's street, Craig counted the houses under his breath, even though he didn't need to. Coming to the familiar mahogany façade, Craig confidently walked up the front walk and up to the door. Rapping knuckles against the door, Craig waited patiently as scurrying footsteps approached the door.
Flinging open the door, Tweek Tweak brightened at once when he saw Craig. It was amazing, the way his face lit up like Christmas lights whenever the Noirette showed up. It used to be it took something to make Tweek smile, but when it was just the two of them, the blond just seemed naturally more inclined to joy. "Craig!" he squeaked. His coat was, predictably, buttoned incorrectly and his gloves that he was struggling to pull on were inside out but he wasn't running away in terror so Craig considered it a win.
"Ready to go?" he asked blandly, watching as Tweek did several revolutions looking for his thermos before dashing back into the house and coming back with the silver container clutched in his hands. As the blond shook it, probably making sure it was full, Craig commented, "If you need more coffee, Token's got this fancy espresso maker. Come on dude, let's get going."
Glancing up at him with wide green eyes, Tweek dithered for a moment, probably trying to decide if it was actually okay to trouble someone else for coffee, before whipping his head around and calling, "I'm going out M-Mom!"
From somewhere inside the house, a high voice called, "Okay sweetie, have a good day at school."
Without even bothering to correct her Tweek hurried to close the door behind him. Craig frowned slightly at the answer Tweek's mom had given him, but when he felt one of Tweek's hands tug on his sleeve, he decided to forget about it. "Grrr- A-are you sure they're going to be okay with this?" Tweek asked nervously, twitching.
"Yeah, they're going to be fine," Craig assured him, before starting towards Token's house, a little more slowly than he would have if it had just been him. The blonde's legs were shorter than his and he didn't want to pull him over accidentally. Walking to the end of Tweek's street, Craig glanced down the road to make sure they were safe before attempting to cross, only to have Tweek let out a screech.
"GHA! YOU'RE GONNA GET HIT!" Stopping, Craig turned back to look at Tweek, who was shivering and staring at him in fear. Looking back at the road, Craig once again confirmed that no one was coming before turning back to Tweek and tilting his head.
"There's no one coming dude," he pointed out. Even though this was true, he stepped back away from the curb so that Tweek could calm down. Clinging to Craig's sleeve harder, Tweek huddled up close to him and whipped his head around, looking down all the streets he could see.
"W-what if someone was drunk and they didn't see us and they ran us over!" Tweek yelped, shaking. "Do you have any idea how many people are killed every year because of drunk drivers!? Ten thousand!" Sighing slightly, Craig reached out his free hand and patted Tweek's hair.
"We'll be fine. I promise we're not going to get hit." Sometimes, he thought Tweek knew too much for his own good. Of course, Tweek insisted that he needed to know stuff like that, but the Noirette often wondered if maybe Tweek knew a little less, he'd be happier. "We only have to cross two streets to get to Token's house and this is one of them." It was the long way, but if it helped Tweek calm down, then Craig would gladly take the long way around.
Letting out a soft whimper, Tweek nodded his head shakily, still worried. "Just look where you're going man," he mumbled, looking down at his feet as if embarrassed at his own worry. Humoring him, Craig looked both ways several times before walking across the street.
As they walked past lit houses, Tweek let out a soft, "Rrr," before blurting out, "I was online yesterday and I found something really cool." It was funny how worried he sounded about telling Craig this, as if maybe the taller boy would make fun of him. "You know," he continued, his voice faltering. "B-because w-we were talking about stuff and I just thought…" His voice died away and Craig looked down at him.
"What did you find?" Craig asked in his usual monotone. He could think of any number of things it could be, considering how much they'd talked over the last couple of weeks, but even if he could have guessed, he could tell that Tweek had been excited about telling him. Anything that made Tweek excited was something he wanted to hear about from the blond. Probably because there was so much that just worried Tweek.
"W-well remember how you were complaining about how you don't have small enough stars to represent the really far away ones?" Tweek asked, hugging his thermos to himself as if just the presence of coffee made him feel better. "Well I was looking and I found some really small ones online." Suddenly grabbing Craig's hand and lifting it up, he insisted, "Th-they're like the size of your pinkie nail man!"
Of course he'd find something like that… "That's awesome," Craig told the nervous blond, eliciting a tentative grin from him. "It would be really cool to fill in my ceiling." He could just picture his star map, with those little distant stars finally filled in. I wonder if Tweek would help me put them up… "I should get them."
"A-actually, I already got them," Tweek said very fast, twitching. "I- I just –ngh- My mom thought I wanted them so she just- I- I'M SORRY, OH GOD!" As he inevitably panicked and dropped his thermos, Craig tried to catch it. He missed. Cursing mentally, Craig dipped down and snatched up the silver container.
"That's really cool Tweek," Craig said, pausing so he could fix Tweek with a serious look. "Thank you." Then he handed the shivering boy his thermos and Tweek let go of his sleeve so he could open the top and gulp down whatever coffee was leftover in it.
"You aren't m-mad?" Tweek asked once he'd calmed down enough not to scream. Craig didn't bother with a verbal answer, he just shook his head. I don't think he could do anything to make me upset. Seemingly satisfied for now that Craig wasn't going to explode at him, Tweek grabbed the boy's sleeve once more and they kept walking.
The rest of the walk to Token's house was in peaceful silence. Tweek was like that sometimes, totally willing to be quiet when the situation called for it. Craig liked the comfortable quiet just as much as he liked their conversations, which was saying something because usually, he liked silence quite a lot. But with Tweek, it didn't really matter, as long as the blond was around, he felt content.
Even though it took them quite a lot longer than it would have if Craig had been on his own, they finally got to the tall gates that closed Token's house off from the rest of South Park. Seeing them, Tweek let out a screech and huddled behind Craig. "OH GOD! Are you sure I'm allowed inside? I-I don't belong here! Maybe I should just-"
"Relax," Craig told him evenly, pulling him forward towards the intimidating gates. "I've got the code to get in, you'll be fine." Punching said code in, Craig pulled the boy through the gates and waited for them to shut behind him. Tweek jumped at the sound, but Craig had expected that. Grabbing the boy's small hand, Craig coaxed him forward, careful not to let him trip over his own shuffling feet.
"T-Token really lives here?" Tweek asked softly, his voice at a whisper. As his fear slipped away, giving way to wonder, the boy stared at everything, his eyes wide. Craig, who'd had the same reaction many times before, snorted.
"Yeah, he lives here," he confirmed, looking around himself. Usually, this path made him feel small, but with Tweek there with him, Craig almost felt taller than he really was. There was a rustling in one of the bushes and he didn't complain as Tweek pressed himself to Craig's side in fear.
"OH JESUS, IT'S A MONSTER!" he shrieked, his shaking increasing dramatically. "IT'S GONNA EAT ME!" Squeezing Craig's hand like he was trying to strangle it, Tweek buried his head in the back of Craig's coat and exclaimed, in a muffled voice, "I'm too young to die!"
Craig was about to say it was nothing when he heard a snuffling. "It's just Token's dogs," Craig amended, entirely calm. "Don't worry, they're only there to scare off intruders." As if summoned by him mentioning them, the three big German Sheppard and Rottweiler mixes trundled out of the bushes, their eyes all fixed on Tweek.
Looking at them, Craig said, "Come on guys, you know me." One of the dogs brought its head up and woofed softly. Tweek let out a scream. "Dude, they're not going to eat you," Craig reassured, holding out his free hand to beckon the dogs forward. Perking up, the three dogs trotted forward towards him.
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Tweek screeched, his twitching getting worse. "CHRIST, THEY COULD BITE MY HEAD OFF!" One of the dogs got closer and nudged Tweek's elbow, to which he screamed again. "AUGHGHGH!"
"Come on, they're harmless," Craig told him evenly. Extending his hand, Craig stroked the dog closest to them, scratching him behind the ears. As this one also nudged the shaking Tweek, Craig sighed and used the hand that was still holding Tweek's to pull the boy forward. "Look, they just need to get to know you." As if on cue, one of the dogs sat down at Tweek's feet, looking up at him expectantly.
Tentatively, Tweek reached out his hand, almost like he was expecting it to get bitten off. After sniffing at it, the first dog gave Tweek's palm a lick. "Th-they aren't going to eat me?" Tweek asked in wonder, slowly running his fingers through the dog's fur, his eyes wide and shocked. As if jealous that their friend was getting all the attention, the other two dogs crowded in, going so far as to nudge Craig aside.
Finding himself smiling at the way the dogs had reacted to Tweek, Craig said, "Nah dude, they're cool." After letting Tweek pet the dogs for a while, Craig gave his hand a tug. "Come on, let's find Token." Almost reluctant now that he'd made new friends in the animals, Tweek gave them each one last pat before walking after Craig.
Leading Tweek through the side door and past the roaring fireplace with minimal effort, Craig opened the door to the basement and was instantly greeted with the sounds of a video game playing in the background. Looking to Tweek, Craig let go of his hand and nudged him forward. "You'll be fine," he murmured.
As Tweek nervously crept down the stairs and towards the light, Craig heard Jimmy saying, "S-so then the S-s-social worker asks, 'W-w-well how do you tell them apart?' to which the wo- the wo-o- The woman answers, 'I just call them by their last names.'." As they finally moved down far enough for Craig to see the room and his friends, Clyde let out a laugh and Token rolled his eyes. Grinning, Jimmy said, "Wow, w-what a great audience."
"Hey assholes," Craig called, catching the back of Tweek's coat just in time to keep him from falling down the rest of the stairs when he jumped in surprise. At once, everyone's heads swiveled.
"CRAIG!" Clyde joyfully exclaimed, not caring when the car he'd been driving in the video game crashed, killing his character.
As Tweek and he reached level ground, Craig didn't stop the shivering blond from hiding behind him once more, his free hand buried in Craig's coat. From the armchair, Token lifted a hand in greeting. "Craig, Tweek! It's good to see you too." Craig just raised an eyebrow while Tweek let out a half-scream.
"Oh yes, h-h-h-how are you Tweek?" Jimmy asked brightly. Tweek didn't respond, he just clutched the back of Craig's jacket harder and twitched violently.
Clyde, naturally, was the most exuberant of the three. Tossing the controller to Jimmy and almost face planting as he tripped over his own feet, the boy raced over to Tweek and Craig. All but dragging Tweek out from behind Craig, Clyde fixed Tweek with a pitiful expression and said, "Tweek, I'm so sorry for supporting you and Craig fighting! I didn't know it would turn out like it did!"
Clearly shell-shocked at Clyde's sudden apology, Tweek just stared dumbly at the boy, probably on the verge of screaming. Then Clyde decided to hug the shorter boy and Tweek wouldn't have been able to escape if he tried. Looking up at Craig in panic as the brunette continued to wail about how horrible he'd been, Tweek awkwardly patted Clyde's back, even as he trembled and twitched.
"I-It's fine," Tweek mumbled, clearly terrified.
"Clyde," Token called from where he sat. "Let him go, you're scaring him." Instantly, Clyde released Tweek and took several steps back. "He's right though Tweek, we're sorry for not doing more to stop the fight." Starting to think that Tweek might never move, Craig bumped up against the boy, bringing him out of his fearful silence.
"It's not your fault!" Tweek burst out, twitching hard.
Grinning, Clyde grabbed Tweek's free hand and dragged him over to the couch. "I knew you'd forgive us Tweek!" Though he didn't like how much the boy was scaring Tweek, Craig decided that it wasn't worth getting worked up over. Sitting Tweek down between him and Jimmy, Clyde continued, "We're in the middle of playing GTA5, wanna play?"
Whipping his head around to stare at Craig as if waiting for his cue, Tweek stammered, "I-I don't- I've never played-" Clyde didn't even let him finish, he was too busy launching into a rundown of how to play the game. Watching Tweek for a few more seconds, glad that his friends were accepting him so easily, Craig ambled over to the bar where he grabbed a coke and walked over to where Token sat.
Sitting down on one end of the love seat, Craig watched silently as Tweek struggled to follow Clyde's instructions while also listening to Jimmy's helpful tips. Of course, he'd expected them to welcome Tweek pretty quickly. He'd been texting his friends pretty frequently about the boy after all, simply because he'd been spending so much time with them. All it had taken for Clyde to decide that Tweek might not be so bad after all was finding out that he liked Red Racer.
"That was fast," Token commented softly, so only Craig could hear him. Watching as Clyde grabbed the controller from Tweek before quickly shoving it back into the blonde's hands, Craig had to admit, Token was right. It hadn't taken long for Clyde to decide that Tweek absolutely had to be part of their friends.
"Yeah," Craig agreed flatly, taking a sip of his soda. "But you know Clyde, once he decides he's going to be friends with someone, nothing stops him."
"That wasn't what I was talking about," Token commented, surprising Craig somewhat. Though he didn't show it on his face, Craig still turned slightly towards the black boy. Token was watching him with that thoughtful expression that he wore so often when he was working his way through a problem silently.
"What then?" Craig muttered, turning away from the boy so he could watch Tweek. It seemed like the blond had mostly gotten a handle on the basic controls of the game and was now merely screeching every time he almost hit someone. Remembering Tweek's statistics on drunk drivers, Craig had to snort softly.
"You and Tweek." Craig brought his head around quickly so he could stare at Token. He wasn't sure what the boy was trying to say by that, but he didn't let the suspicious feeling show. As if he could read Craig's mind anyway, Token continued, "You two became friends pretty fast."
"Well, yeah," Craig said, shifting in his seat slightly. The way Token said it, Craig couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. "What did you expect?" Of course we became friends. But when Craig tried to find a reason for it, he couldn't figure out what it was. It's just he's… Tweek. What else was I supposed to do?
"Nothing," Token said smoothly. Still suspicious, Craig stared at the black boy for a moment later, waiting for him to say something else, but he seemed to have said what he wanted to. Thought it made him feel a little stupid, Craig was mildly relieved that Token hadn't asked why he'd become friends with Tweek because he wouldn't have been able to answer him.
As his avatar crashed into a building, Tweek let out a string of curses that made Clyde cackle and Jimmy grin. Passing the controller to Jimmy, the blond twitched and smiled tentatively, seemingly relaxing. Reaching for his thermos, which he'd left on the coffee table in front of the couch, Tweek squawked suddenly. Instantly knowing what it was about, Craig turned to Token and asked, "Hey, can Tweek use your coffee maker?"
"Sure," the boy said easily. "If he can figure it out, I don't know how to use it." The Noirette didn't blame Token, he'd seen the machine himself and he hadn't been able to make heads or tails of it either. Tweek'll know how to use it. Nodding, Craig got to his feet and beckoned the worried looking Tweek forward, nudging him away from the other boys. Following Craig as always, the blond fiddled with his thermos quietly as they walked back up the stairs.
"So," Craig began, walking towards the kitchen. "What do you think of my friends?" Craig had found that the more specific he could be, the less likely Tweek would be to freak out about the question. It was just a little something, and he did it easily. Anything to keep from stressing Tweek out any more than necessary.
"Th-they're pretty cool," Tweek admitted, though Craig could feel the boy latch onto his sleeve as he spoke. Twitching, the blond said, "Are you sure they're okay with me man?"
"Totally," Craig insisted before reaching over and patting Tweek's hair. "So will you hang out with us more often?" Jerking his head up to look at Craig, Tweek fixed him with those impossibly green eyes. In the modern lighting of Token's kitchen, with several smaller lights instead of one big one, Craig could have sworn he saw a galaxy in those eyes.
"Are you sure you want me too?" Tweek mumbled.
Bumping his shoulder against Tweek's, Craig said, "Yeah, we do."
Thinking it over for a moment, twitching as he did so, Tweek finally said, "I-if you're –ngh- sure… Then y-yeah, I'd like to."
Craig didn't respond, all he had to do was smile.
