Tweek
Tweek had a lot of tics, things he did when he was nervous or when he was freaking out. He had ones for when he was feeling awkward or even on the rare occasions he was happy. Sometimes, when he thought about it, he had to admit that he wore his emotions on his sleeve. Everyone knew what he was thinking, probably because he didn't bother to hide a thing. Of course, the argument could be made that he couldn't hide anything but those were just details.
If someone got to know him, they probably grew familiar with his tics, the hair pulling, the screaming, the head-banging. Heck, you didn't even need to get to know him to know when something had him upset. Because he'd tell you, he'd scream it at the ceiling.
Those were Tweek's tics and everyone was used to them. Tweek himself had sort of just gotten used to them, reasoning that everyone had tics and he was no different. Kenny played with his parka strings and Kyle tugged on his curly hair and Stan tapped his pencil, no one got away with being completely unreadable.
Except, Tweek had thought, for Craig. The Noirette didn't have tics. He was an impenetrable wall and anyone who thought differently was merely deluding themselves. No matter what happened, Craig didn't let any of it show. At least, that's what Tweek had believed.
But as Tweek got to know Craig, got closer to the stoic boy, he'd started to realize that even Craig showed his emotions sometimes. Of course, his tics were a lot harder to spot, but Tweek had a lot of time to figure out what they were. Though he didn't stare at Craig like the Noirette used to stare at him, Tweek still found himself watching sometimes, unable to quite look away.
Craig tugged on his hat. That was one of his tics. He only did it when something made him feel uncomfortable so he didn't do it often, but Tweek had discovered that whenever the boy subconsciously made that particular move, he was mildly distressed for one reason or another. It could have been anything that was making him feel off, but Tweek wasn't good enough to guess what was going on inside Craig's head, much less guess what things were in there that made him upset. The fact that he could identify this discomfort, however, despite not knowing what caused it, was something that the blond liked to consider progress.
When it came to Craig, it was best to consider most anything progress, otherwise the whole thing got to be rather discouraging.
"Now Tweek, can you tell us what the answer is?" The question jolted him back to the present painfully. Wait, he wants me to answer a question?! WHAT QUESTION?!
"GHA! PRESSURE!" Tweek screeched, yanking on his hair as his eyes rolled. I didn't even have my hand raised why is he calling on me?! Make it stop, I didn't do anything wrong! What if I answer incorrectly and Mr. Garrison kills me?! Oh Jesus! I don't want to die!
The weight and heat of his thermos bumped against his chest suddenly, startling Tweek out of his own panic. Grabbing it, Tweek struggled to undo the lid only to find that it had already been partially removed. As he gratefully sucked down the coffee inside, settling his nerves, a hand carded through his hair, gradually calming him down.
It's okay, they're not going to kill me. The question isn't even that hard. Staring up at the board for a moment, Tweek nervously answered, "F-forty-three?" Mr. Garrison stared at him for a moment, before nodding.
"Yes, that's correct, thank you Tweek." The hand in his hair vanished and Tweek quickly glanced to his side. From where he sat in his new seat beside Tweek, Craig tugged on the brim of his chullo. His blue eyes were fixed resolutely on his paper, but Tweek still smiled at him.
This was all very new, Tweek was still rather unsure how it had happened. One day, Craig had been sitting almost all the way across the room from him, the next, he'd been moved to the seat beside Tweek and Red, the girl who had previously had that seat, had been relegated back to Craig's seat. At first, it had made Tweek panic because OH JESUS WHY DOES HE WANT TO SIT NEXT TO ME? But that had quickly changed.
Because Craig remained the only one who could calm him down. It turned out, once Tweek was no longer yanking on his hair and screaming every few minutes, he was actually pretty smart. With Craig's help, Tweek was actually able to pay attention in class and even answer questions. Though Craig acted like he could care less about the whole thing, Tweek suspected he cared at least a little because every time Tweek found himself panicking, the Noirette was there with his thermos and a hand in his hair.
Then he'd go back to listening as he tugged his hat down over his forehead.
I wonder how he managed to get his seat switched. It was unbelievable that he'd managed it because if there was one thing teachers didn't change, it was seating. They put kids where they wanted and left them there like it was writ in stone. I wonder if he promised them something in exchange for getting this seat? Because why else would teachers have let Craig arbitrarily change where he was sitting. It certainly didn't have anything to do with Tweek because the teachers didn't give a shit about what happened to the twitchy blond, they'd just keep lecturing regardless.
Oh god, what if he did something horrible so they'd let him sit here? What if he killed someone so they wouldn't argue with him!? Craig wouldn't do that, right? Tweek shivered at the idea, the image of Craig standing over someone with a knife or gun in his hand, blood all over his clothing, that same blank expression on his face. OH GOD! But no, that couldn't be it because Craig wasn't a monster. No matter which way you cut it, there was no way he'd do something like that.
But what if the teachers are making him do something? Tweek's mind quickly started spinning out of control as the math lesson faded from his head. What if he promised something in return for sitting here!? No, I'm not that important. But what if they hadn't given him a choice? Oh Jesus, what if he's being used as a drug mule?!
That was something he'd learned about just this last week and he wished he didn't know because the idea of being cut open and then sewn back together with drugs inside of you was frankly terrifying. WHAT IF THEY DID THAT TO CRAIG!? What if they're making him carry drugs for them in exchange for sitting next to me?! NO, I'M NOT THAT IMPORTANT!
Okay, so maybe not drugs. Besides, the chances that the teachers of South Park being involved in a drug ring, while higher than the chances would be at most schools, was still pretty low. So he probably didn't need to be worried about them hacking Craig open with unsanitary tools and stuffing dirty drugs into him.
But if not that, then what did he promise them? Mind spinning, Tweek thumped his head against his desk with a scream. Almost at once, a hand landed in his hair, not even moving, just lending warmth and weight. Gulping down lungfuls of air, Tweek turned once more to Craig as if his face would give anything away. Nothing, he wasn't even looking Tweek's way. It was amazing that after so many months of staring at the blond non-stop, the Noirette had so easily gone back to hardly glancing at anyone.
If they don't want drugs, then what do they want from him? What can Craig even give them? Except for the finger and a whole lot of nothingness to boot. OH JESUS! A thought hit him and he twitched hard. What if they did something else? What if he paid them with his body to change seats? What if the teachers raped him and that's the only reason he's allowed to sit next to me!?
Child prostitution happened to be one of the other Wikipedia articles that he'd happened upon. The details had been graphic enough to scar him. What if he sold his body just so he could sit next to me?! God, fuck, I don't think I can handle this! It's too much, he can't have done that! He can't do something like that to me!
On the verge of screaming, Tweek trembled as he watched Craig with wide eyes. As if finally realizing he was being watched so intently, the Noirette turned his head slightly and fixed Tweek with a flat, calm expression. Quietly, as if he actually cared what the teacher thought, Craig said, "I'm fine Tweek." Almost like he could read the blonde's mind, almost as if he'd gone into Tweek's brain and plucked out exactly what was bothering him.
At Craig's reassurance, Tweek found his heart rate going back to normal. Because sure, Craig had been moved so he was sitting next to him now, but that didn't mean he'd asked for it. More than likely, the teachers had just been glad for something to calm Tweek down. No doubt Mr. Garrison had jumped on the idea that Tweek wouldn't spend all of class screaming and hitting his head on the desk. If Craig could calm him down, then, of course, the teachers would use him for that purpose. It made perfect sense, even to Tweek.
Feeling slightly less like screaming, Tweek turned back to his paper.
It had been a week since they'd gotten back from their suspension and already, Tweek and Craig had become inseparable. Everywhere the Noirette went, Tweek followed, and if you saw the blond on his own, there was little doubt that Craig would be along quite shortly. Before school and after school, they could always be found side by side. If you talked to one, you talked to both of them and if one of them was somewhere, the other wasn't far behind.
Tweek still wasn't quite sure what to think of the new arrangement. He wasn't used to having someone always there for him and he definitely wasn't accustomed to having a friend. Craig, as far as Tweek could tell, was perfect on both counts. He was always around, always looking out for the blond, and he always made sure that Tweek had someone to talk to. At lunch and recess, Tweek sat with Craig's friends now, but when they weren't sitting with them, Craig was sitting with him.
Sometimes, when Tweek couldn't handle the cafeteria, they'd end up together in the alley behind the school. Craig never complained, even though it smelled like cigarette smoke back there and Kenny had already shown up once, he just followed Tweek dutifully and sat beside him, his usual flat expression plastered on his face.
All in all, Tweek liked it, liked kind of being part of a package deal. It meant that when Craig was involved in something, so was he. Since that first time over at Token's house, Tweek had hung out with Craig's friends several more times. When he wasn't, he was either at Craig's house or Craig at the blond's. He'd never had somewhere else to go after school and he loved it. Of course, there would probably be days when he ended up helping out down at the coffee shop, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Craig would go too, just to keep him company.
The bell rang for recess, but Tweek didn't race to put his stuff away, instead, he let himself take his time, actually keeping his papers and such neat as he put them away instead of shoving everything in at once. Craig waited for him, his eyes cool, his face flat. Tweek twitched under his eyes, but it was more a habit and an uncontrollable thing than a sign of actual nerves. Craig's presence was no longer uncomfortable, if anything, it was a comfort.
Picking up his backpack, Tweek wordlessly latched onto Craig's jacket so he wouldn't be pulled and pushed by the kids out in the hall and followed the boy out of the classroom. "Want to sit outside today?" Craig asked as they reached the Noirette's locker. Tweek wasn't sure if he was used to someone caring about his opinion, it was a little distressing at times, having to make decisions like that, but he sort of liked it regardless.
"Ngh- Th-that would be fine!" he squeaked, sipping at his coffee as he watched Craig stuff everything into his crowded locker before slamming the door closed, making Tweek jump. Watching him impassively for a moment, long enough for Tweek to wonder if he'd said something wrong, Craig nodded.
"Okay." He was so calm about everything, Tweek often wondered if he really had an opinion at all. He wouldn't have really been able to make this mistake though because Craig displayed a strong enough opinion on some things to counteract his blasé attitude about others. Tweek liked that about Craig, his willingness to go with whatever life threw at him. The blond wished he could do that, but it was all or nothing with him usually. Either he let someone else make all the decisions for him, or he agonized over each one and freaked out when things didn't go the way he'd expected.
Of course with Craig, it was different. He could trust the Noirette to make the right choice because Craig had never led him wrong yet.
Herding him over to the blond's locker, Craig commented, "We're hanging out at Token's tonight. Want me to drop by and pick you up?" That was one of Craig's other little habits, walking with Tweek to Token's even though he'd have gotten there far faster on his own. Tweek liked it, liked that Craig thought about him and bothered to take the extra time to come and walk with him. Sometimes he worried that that made him clingy, but he really couldn't make himself care enough either way to change anything.
"Yes!" he said instantly, bobbing his head as he stopped at his locker. Twitching, Tweek fumbled with his locker combo but finally struggled the thing open. Putting his bag away, Tweek took a moment to make sure nothing had gone missing in the time they'd been in class. Satisfied, he shut the locker and latched onto Craig, who as usual, didn't complain.
As they walked outside, Tweek drank his coffee and stayed quiet. No one really cared about how close he stuck to Craig, if anything, people seemed to entirely understand. It was just something the people in their school were getting used to. Tweek and Craig, now not two individual people but sort of one consciousness that could be addressed as a singular entity. Good, it means I don't have to deal with people on my own.
The moment they got to the playground, the sounds of shouting met their ears.
"No Kyle! You're a dirty Jew rat and I don't want your dirty Jew magic on my side!" That was Cartman, standing in the middle of the playground with his other friends like they usually did. At the sight of the boy, Tweek huddled behind Craig, who simply wrapped an arm around Tweek's shoulder and pulled him close to his side, as if protecting him from Cartman and his friends.
"That's no reason to throw me off of your team fatass!" Kyle yelled back. His face was red and his hair was escaping from under his green trapper's hat. Oh, Jesus, he looks like he's going to explode. What if he turns into a monster and eats everyone? What if he blows up and destroys the school and we're all killed! Tweek twitched and trembled against Craig in fear. He didn't like Kyle angry, an angry Kyle was terrifying.
"Huh, what was that? I could have sworn I heard a Jew trying to convince me he's a good person," Cartman mocked much to Kyle's anger. WHAT ARE THEY EVEN FIGHTING ABOUT!? It's too much pressure!
"What do you think they're fighting about?" Craig asked, pulling Tweek over towards the Merry go Round, Tweek's favorite piece of playground equipment. Tweek wasn't sure, but it still scared him. Even when Craig let him sit down on the faded wheel, Tweek couldn't help but turn to face the arguing boys.
"I don't know man!" he squeaked, tugging on his hair with one hand while he held on tightly with the other, forever terrified of being flung off and splatted into something at high speeds. "Gha! I wish they'd just s-stop!"
"I can be a human too!" Kyle was exclaiming, waving his hands about as he stared at Cartman, anger in his body. It was amazing how much rage one small kid could hold, Tweek was almost in awe. Craig might have been terrifying when he was angry, but Kyle was simply a force of nature. "Why the heck are you making such stupid rules. This is supposed to be a game we all play Cartman!"
"Look, I never said you couldn't play," Cartman reassured the furious boy, even as Craig started pushing the Merry-go-Round, spinning Tweek in circles that grew faster and faster. Tweek liked the feeling, almost like he was flying, yet still able to hold on to a sturdy support. "I'm just saying that you're a dirty Jew, so you have to be a Drow Elf."
"Fine then, I'll be king of the Drow Elves and I'll kick your ass!" Kyle yelled back, dislodging his hat as he yelled. His red hair looked like fire as the landscape around Tweek blurred. There was a thump as Craig jumped onto the spinning disc, right next to Tweek. Taking his free hand out of his hair, Tweek reached for Craig. The boy easily caught his hand. Large, calloused, gentle…
"Nu Uh Kyle, my army is going to be way bigger. I'm going to be the Wizard King and my castle is going to be in my backyard!" Cartman shouted back. Craig shot Tweek a look that silently mocked Cartman. "And everyone is going to want to join my side because it'll be cooler than being a stupid elf!"
"Oh yeah? Well, I'll have my castle in my backyard and everyone will want to join because everyone will want to kick your ass!" Kyle argued, balling up his fists.
"Oh yeah, I've heard them talking about this," Craig said, raising one of his eyebrows. "They're all going to be medieval warriors and wizards and they're going to fight each other with magic over a stick that controls the universe." Tweek's eyes widened. It sounded exactly like something Craig would want to be a part of, considering what kind of things he was interested in and how much of an imagination he had.
"Well, Butters is going to be on my side!" Cartman called back. As the Merry-go-Round slowed, Tweek could make out the aforementioned blond nervously flicking his eyes between Kyle and Cartman as if his allegiance was news to him. It probably was. Butters is almost as nervous as I am after all. And at least I have Craig now.
"Well, Stan is going to be my Ranger Warrior!" Kyle fired at Cartman, advancing towards him.
"NO, He's not Kyle, because Drow Elves suck!" Cartman argued, glaring at Stan as if daring him to disagree.
"A-are you going to be part of it?" Tweek asked curiously, turning towards Craig who was slipping off of the disk so he could push the contraption around again. He was pretty sure the boy would be, he loved this sort of thing. "You could be a mage! Or –ghn- a thief or something!"
Craig shrugged. "I don't think I want to be part of it." He sounds regretful. Is he upset I asked him!? Oh god, what if I annoyed him by asking if he was going to play?! "Cartman's in charge of the game after all." Oh, so that's it.
From where he stood between Cartman and Kyle, Stan looked between the two of them. As he looked at Kyle, Tweek noticed the way the redhead's eyes softened momentarily and instantly he knew which way the boy was going to go. "Actually Cartman, I think I'd be an Elf," Stan admitted, going to stand beside his friend. As he went, he picked up Kyle's hat. Even from where Tweek was sitting, he could see the way Stan brushed up against the slightly shorter boy, calming him.
"Fine then!" Turning towards the rest of the kids on the playground, Cartman yelled, "If the rest of you don't want to suck, you should totally join my side, because we're way cooler than Kyle!" At his call, a fair number of boys looked up and started to get closer.
"B-but it looks like it's going to be a big game!" Tweek insisted, even as the world blurred once more and there was another thump as Craig jumped onto the Merry-go-Round. This time he was on the other side, but Tweek was still entirely aware of his position, almost like he had radar specifically calibrated to detect Craig. "It's not just gonna be Cartman!" Maybe I should play too. BUT WHAT IF I'M NO GOOD AT IT OH JESUS, THEY'LL ALL HATE ME! Clutching tighter to the metal handle, Tweek waited for Craig's response.
"I want to, but I don't want to be around someone who hurt you," Craig said, his voice stiffer than usual, not as flat as it generally was. He almost sounded upset. Tweek shivered, worried that he'd been the one to piss Craig off. But he's upset with Cartman, right? So he wouldn't be upset with me!
"What about you Kenny, come be on our side!" Kyle looked at the blond, who let out a laugh that Tweek could hear even over the squeaking of the playground equipment. "You can be a mage."
"Actually, I'm thinking I'll be a princess," Kenny said.
Cartman, seizing on the idea at once, said, "Yes, you'd make a great ruler, Princess Kenny." Suddenly struck with an image of Kenny in a pink dress, Tweek wasn't sure if he should laugh or scream.
"Oh please!" Kyle snapped, glaring at the other boys. "Kenny, you can't be a princess, you're not a chick!"
"Hey! Watch your mouth, you Jew! That's Lady McCormick to you!" Cartman bellowed, making Kenny giggle in an obscenely high-pitched way that made even Craig snort. As the Merry-go-Round slowed down once again, Tweek saw Kenny leaning on Butters' shoulder.
"What do you think Butterscotch, do you think I'd make a pretty chick?" Kenny asked teasingly, pulling on a strand of the unfortunate boy's hair.
"W-well gee Kenny, I-I think you're a pretty boy, s-so you sure'd make a pretty girl too," Butters stammered, looking at his feet. Kenny, true to form, only laughed.
"Sorry Kyle, looks like I have my side already."
As the disk stopped spinning, Tweek crawled under the bars to where Craig sat, facing away from the group. Nervously, Tweek said, "I- I wouldn't be upset Craig! You don't have to do everything for me." It made him scared to say, half of him just sort of expected the boy to get up and leave once Tweek said he could, but Craig just tugged on his chullo in that way he did when he was uncomfortable.
"If you play with me, then I'll play their game," Craig said softly, not looking at Tweek.
Feeling warmth bubble up in his chest, Tweek grinned. "Then I want to play!" As long as Craig is around, I'll be fine. And to be honest, he really believed it.
