Craig
[Dude, where r u? We've been in the cafeteria waiting for u.]
[Im in the nurses office.]
[OMG CRAIG ARE YOU OKAY?]
[Some 6th grader beat up Tweek. What do you think?]
[IM BRINGING TOKEN HOLD ON]
Slipping his phone into his pocket, Craig went back to filling the plastic bag he'd found with ice. Tweek was still sitting on the cot in the corner, sipping at his coffee shakily while he watched Craig with wide eyes. Just seeing that expression made guilt clench at Craig's gut. The bruise under Tweek's eye was starting to swell, stretching the coffee-stained skin as it went red and angry. Goddamnit, I should have been there.
Sealing the bag, Craig grabbed for one of those thin towels the nurse had lying around and wrapped it up. "Here," he said shortly, trading Tweek his thermos for the towel wrapped ice. Obediently, Tweek held the thing to his cheek, even while he watched Craig with those bright green eyes. Feeling like he needed to do something with his hands, Craig walked over to the small sink and turned it on, splashing water on his face in an attempt to get rid of some of the blood.
Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Craig felt something uncomfortable rise in his throat. For a moment there, right after he'd put the sixth-grader on the ground, he'd seen the fear in Tweek's eyes, seen the way he'd jerked away from his hand. For someone who was supposed to never be afraid of him again, Tweek seemed to do an awful lot of hiding from Craig.
Clenching his fists around the cracking porcelain of the sink, Craig glared at the soap dispenser like it had insulted his guinea pig. What did they expect him to do? If people hurt Tweek, then he was going to do everything in his power to hurt them back. Tweek didn't deserve to get knocked around, not when he was more likely to attempt to defuse a situation rather than make it worse. He didn't deserve Cartman pushing him around because it was easy, he didn't deserve to get beat up by a sixth-grader just because Craig had humiliated him. It wasn't fair.
Life isn't fair. The world sucks. Get over it. Letting out a heavy sigh, Craig released his grip on the sink, even though the blood under his nose wasn't anywhere near gone. At least he didn't break it. That would have been more trouble than I'm willing to deal with. Though, if he was honest with himself, a broken nose wouldn't have made a bit of difference, his face still wouldn't be much to look at.
"W-what did Mr. Garrison want?" At the sound of Tweek's soft voice, slightly muffled, probably because of the ice he was holding over his face, Craig turned around quickly. Looking at the curtain partition that hid the boy from his view, Craig took a moment to process the question. "I mean, h-he kept you after class and stuff," Tweek stammered. "Why?"
Though he didn't mean to, Craig's face darkened. "It was nothing," he said in his usual deadpan, as if it really had been nothing. Of course, it hadn't been, Craig was still irritated about the whole thing, mostly because he didn't understand why it was an issue in the first place. Sometimes, he just didn't understand adults and it pissed him off.
After all, why was it so wrong that he and Tweek spent a good portion of class looking at each other? They didn't talk, they weren't being disruptive. Hell, Craig paid more attention now that he was almost in the front and wasn't staring at Tweek all day, just part of the day. Mr. Garrison had no reason to be telling Craig that his behavior with Tweek was 'weird' or 'potentially inappropriate for school'. He'd been the one to move Craig to the front in the first place so he could keep Tweek calm, that's what Craig was doing, keeping Tweek calm.
But apparently, there was something wrong with that now. Fuck him, I'm not going to listen to a teacher about something like this. No one else in the class gave a shit, Craig wasn't about to believe it was weird. He knew full well that the other kids in the grade were cruel and sadistic whenever they were given the chance to be. If Tweek and he were acting weird, the other kids would be quick to call them out on it.
"B-but then why did it take so long?" Tweek asked, his voice worried and shivery, like he always got when his mind was coming up with any number of horrible possibilities. "Jesus man, he k-kept you in there forever!" He did, and that's why Tweek has another bruise on his cheek because someone decided that he was an easy target. Keeping his face flat, Craig walked around the curtain and into the back where Tweek was still sitting.
"He just wanted to ask about a homework assignment," Craig answered in an entirely flat voice. He knew it was a boldfaced lie, but he also knew that if Tweek got the idea into his head that the teacher was staring at him, he'd freak. Right now, Craig didn't want him to start worrying unnecessarily, he wanted him to stay still and not get hurt anymore. "It's nothing dude."
Nodding slowly, shivering again, Tweek looked absently at the stack of extra cots propped up against the wall and asked, "If it was something, l-like something that I had done, you'd tell me, right?" Jerking his head up so he could look Craig in the eyes plaintively, Tweek squeaked, "B-because, I don't –ngh- want you do get in trouble f-for me."
Drawing in a breath at how accurate Tweek's question had managed to be, Craig was about to try and come up with another bullshit answer when the door of the nurse's office burst open, saving him. "TEACUP!" Nearly slipping and falling on the floor, Clyde raced over to where Tweek and Craig were, a worried look in his eyes. "CRAIGTOLDMEAREYOUOKAY!?" he asked all at once, making Tweek twitch hard and lean back slightly.
Skidding to a stop in front of them, Clyde looked at Craig and his jaw dropped open. "Dude, Craig, what did you do?!" Before Craig could answer, Clyde's attention turned back to Tweek, who he hugged, albeit gently. "Sixth-graders are the worst Tweek, they seriously suck. It's okay, I heard that someone got sent home, I bet it was him, especially if Craig fought him."
"You did fight him, right?" Turning, Craig found Token making his way around the nurse's desk and towards the back at a much more sedated pace. Looking Craig up and down, Token sighed and grabbed a handful of those single-use towelettes off of one of the cabinets. Before Craig could answer one way or another, Token added, "Your knuckles are bruised."
Sighing, Craig allowed Token to rip open the little packages and wipe up the blood that had spilled down his chin. "He hurt Tweek," Craig answered stiffly, which only made Token raise an eyebrow and open another towelette. "It was over the fucking game, he's one of Kyle's Elves."
"I'm aware," Token answered, finally getting rid of the blood under Craig's nose. Feeling very much like a small child and not liking it, Craig snatched the disinfectant wipes and finished cleaning himself up. With his hands now free, the black boy crossed his arms and looked up at Craig. He wasn't too terribly short, probably around four foot seven, but it was enough of a difference that he had to tilt his head back.
"What?" Craig asked flatly, tossing the bloodied towelettes into the trash. There was probably still blood on his face and he knew that there was a bruise on the side of his face, but he didn't much care. "He fucking deserved it Toke, he-"
"I'm aware," Token repeated, still not sounding any more impressed. Glancing over at Tweek, the boy's posture relaxed as he calmly asked, "How are you feeling Tweek?" Disgruntled, Craig stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground, his brows furrowed.
"I'm okay!" Tweek answered instantly, moving the ice from his cheek. "He only hit me a few times. M-my ribs are a bit sore and –grr- my shoulder hurts, but I'll be fine." He twitched violently and asked, "D-did he really get sent home?"
"As far as I can tell," Token answered, looking him over. "Have you had anything for lunch?" When Tweek shook his head, Token reached into the lunch bag Craig hadn't even realized he'd brought and drew out a sandwich. "Eat something then."
"How do you not eat?!" Clyde asked, his eyes wide. "I'd get so hungry!" Helping Tweek unwrap the plastic wrap around the sandwich, the boy bounced on the cot and said, "I bet Craig looked super cool beating up that sixth-grader! He's really strong, isn't he? He once hit a kid that was making fun of the fact that my mom died, Craig's the best."
Remembering the incident Clyde was talking about, Craig huffed out a bit of air and tugged on the edge of his chullo. "Piece of shit deserved it," he commented flatly. Noticing Token still watching him, Craig let out a sigh and said, "What."
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Token asked, his expression betraying nothing. When Craig didn't respond, he said, "Wonderful." Glancing at Clyde and Tweek, the black boy offered the two of them a smile before grabbing Craig's arm and all but dragging him away from the other two kids. Shaking Token off, Craig followed the boy to the doorway and stood so that he could still see Tweek, who was giggling at something that Clyde was saying.
"What were you thinking?" Token asked it as a question, but he said it like he already knew the answer. Looking at the boy, Craig raised an eyebrow but didn't answer. Sighing, Token rubbed his temples. "Craig, you can't do this every time someone hurts Tweek." The fuck? Really? Again with this shit?
"Why not?" Craig asked, keeping his voice flat and his gaze steady. He didn't actually care what Token's answer was because it didn't matter. Whatever happened, he would stand up for Tweek. No one else did, obviously, so he had to. It wasn't a question of whether he could or couldn't, it was a question of when and where he'd have to do it again.
It was probably a good thing that he didn't expect an answer, because Token didn't give one. Staring at Craig in that unnerving way of his, Token slowly said, "You understand that you're not going to get away with this." Not a question, just a statement. "You're going to be lucky if they don't suspend you."
"I was defending Tweek," Craig answered stubbornly, his eyes wandering once more to Tweek, who had fallen over into Clyde's lap where he was giggling helplessly as the boy above him told him an animated story that had him grinning as well. Feeling something curling in his gut, Craig told Token, "They won't suspend me for something like that."
"Craig, apart from one sixth-grader, who is currently suspended might I add, you get into the most fights of anyone in this school." Token said it like he'd personally been keeping a tally of the matter. "You're going to get detention at least."
Furrowing his brows, Craig said, "So?" He knew that he should care more, but he really didn't. Tweek was safe, that was what mattered. Remembering the battle they were supposed to fight after school, Craig hissed through his teeth as he realized what Token was trying to say. "Shit," he muttered, tugging at the brim of his hat. It'll be fine, Tweek can fight on his own if he has to.
Token was silent for a moment, probably letting the consequences of Craig's actions finally sink in, then he spoke, his tone calm. "Craig, someday, you might not be there for Tweek." Before Craig could challenge him, Token help up a hand. "If you keep doing this, Tweek will never learn how to stand up for himself. People are mean Craig, you and I both know that."
"So what are you telling me to do?" Craig demanded, his voice getting louder if not angrier. He hated it when Token said shit like this, that someday he might not be able to protect Tweek. He'd protected the boy from everyone he could so far, and as long as he was alive, he'd continue to do the same. But Token was just staring at him like he should have already figured out the answer.
"You've been doing a good job of giving Tweek some level of confidence," Token said at last, looking away from Craig and glancing out into the empty hallway. "Keep doing that Craig, otherwise, he'll find himself entirely dependent on you."
Craig was about to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean when there was a crackling sound over the PA and Mr. Mackey's voice came through. "Um, If Tweek Tweak and Craig Tucker could both please come to the councilor's office, m'kay? Yes, Tweek and Craig, please report to the councilor's office immediately." As the announcement died, Token pointed at the ceiling and raised his eyebrows.
From the cot, Tweek screeched and there was the sound of the ice towel falling to the floor. "OH JESUS, W-WHAT DO THEY WANT ME FOR!?" Instantly forgetting Token, Craig quickly walked over to the boy and grabbed his thermos, pushing it into his hands. Shaking, Tweek looked between Clyde and Craig, his eyes filled with fear. "What did I do!?"
"It's probably something stupid," Craig commented, helping Tweek to his feet carefully, watchful for any unsteadiness in his legs. Fuck, Token was right. But why do they want Tweek, it was my fault. Allowing Tweek to grab his hand, Craig flipped both Token and Clyde off and said, "Thanks for coming down," before walking through the Nurse's office, careful not to drag Tweek after him.
"Don't get into trouble Teacup!" Clyde called after them, to which Tweek let out a scream in return, which was as good as an answer honestly. Ignoring his friends, Craig kept walking, his mind a cloud of irritation. He knew why he was getting called but Tweek hadn't done anything wrong, which is why he was so annoyed. Fuck them all.
"D-do you think you're going to get expelled?" Tweek asked Craig in a hushed voice, shaking at the thought. There was fear in those green eyes, an expression that Craig hated to see on Tweek's face. Goddamnit, why is it that if I'm not scaring Tweek personally, I'm making him worry?
Sparing a moment to ruffle Tweek's hair till the boy calmed down, Craig evenly said, "They won't expel me over this." Turning down another hallway, Craig avoided making eye contact with the few students that they passed, who were all staring at him, probably because there was blood down his coat and he'd just been called to Mr. Mackey's office. Ignoring all of them, Craig turned another corner and walked to the councilor's office door, dropping Tweek's hand at last. "We'll be fine," he told Tweek as firmly as he could, before opening the door.
"Mm, Tweek? Craig?" Looking at them, Mr. Mackey gestured at the two chairs he'd pulled up to his desk before saying, "If you'll sit down, m'kay? I need to talk to you about the incident at lunch." As Craig gently guided Tweek forward before taking a seat in the chair closest to the door, Mr. Mackey folded his hands on his desk and gave them both severe looks.
"Now, I understand there was a fight outside on the playground today, yes?" When Tweek just let out a soft squawk and Craig gave him a bored look, Mr. Mackey sighed in irritation. "Look here, this is a very serious matter, m'kay? N-now I know it seems easier to solve your problems with your fists, but that's not how it works in the real world. You can't be fighting like this!"
Lifting his chin, Craig easily said, "He started it." Tweek let out a whimper of fear at that and twitched hard. He was staring up at Mr. Mackey, his green eyes wide and frightened. Pushing down the thing inside him that always seemed to rise up when he saw Tweek upset, Craig focused on staring at the counselor. "It's not our fault."
"Craig Tucker," Mr. Mackey said, looking more than a little annoyed. "You have a history of getting into altercations with other students, m'kay? So excuse me if I have a little trouble believing that. I have people who saw this fight happen and they were very clear saying you threw the first punch."
"He hurt Tweek first," Craig told the man, unwavering in his gaze. He wasn't going to let anyone tell him that he couldn't protect the blond, fuck all of them. He was sick and tired of being told he couldn't do things like that. But Mr. Mackey wasn't listening, he was just glaring at Craig sternly.
"I'm sorry, but that's no reason to go beating people up. If Mr. Tweak here had a problem, he should have come and got an adult, m'kay? Not rely on you to fight this other boy off." Turning his gaze on Tweek, Mr. Mackey said, "And don't think that you get out of this just because the other boy attacked you first, fighting is not the answer."
"OH JESUS! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Tweek exploded, his trembling increasing by tenfold. As his grip became unsteady, his thermos dropped to the ground, clanging against the floor. Grabbing for his hair, Tweek shook his head and yelled, "HE STARTED HITTING ME AND I –NGH- DIDN'T DO ANYTHING HEWASTOOSTRONGOHGODDON'TKILLME!"
Attention instantly switching to Tweek, Craig stooped to the ground and grabbed the boy's thermos. Kneeling before Tweek's chair, Craig carefully shushed the boy, putting the thermos in Tweek's hands before stroking his hair till he stopped shaking. As Tweek looked at him with still fearful eyes, Craig turned to Mr. Mackey and said, "Tweek didn't hit anyone, I did."
"S-so you're admitting to being violent!" the man announced, pointing a finger at Craig. "See Craig, this is why you have so many problems. You always use violence first, even though violence doesn't help anyone." Getting to his feet, Craig stood in front of Tweek, blocking the shaking boy from Mr. Mackey's view. He could feel the boy's hand tugging on the back of his coat and it filled him with more determination than he'd already had.
"Yeah, he was hurting Tweek, so I hurt him back," Craig said firmly, lifting his chin.
Getting angry at Craig's defiance, Mr. Mackey said, "You are getting an hour of detention today, m'kay! Now I wasn't going to give you anything but this is disrespectful Craig Tucker. I am sick and tired of you hitting people and thinking you can get away with it." Without letting a single emotion cross his face, Craig lifted up his middle finger in response to Mr. Mackey's declaration.
"Did you just flip me off?!" the man demanded, angry.
Lowering his finger, Craig easily said, "No."
"That's it, get out of my office. I will see you after school, m'kay?" Huffing, Mr. Mackey crossed his arms and muttered something about disruptive children under his breath. Completely fine with leaving, Craig helped Tweek to his feet and started towards the door before the councilor said, "No, Tweek, you stay here, m'kay? I still need a private word with you."
Feeling Tweek pull his hand out of Craig's grip, the Noirette turned around to look at him and found Tweek giving him a brave look. "I'll be fine," Tweek insisted, twitching horribly but still holding his chin high.
"I'll be outside the door," Craig said instantly, hiding any and all anger behind his usual mask of calm. Leaving the room, Craig leaned against the wall and let out a huff of air. Fuck, now I won't be able to help in the battle. The moment Tweek put two and two together; he was going to freak out. From inside the room, Craig could hear Tweek let out a scream and it made his expression darken. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he stared at the ceiling and forced calm. No, everything was going to be fine. Tweek was plenty strong; he'd be able to lead the other boys just fine.
There was the sound of something crashing from inside the office and Craig clenched his teeth together. Whatever Mr. Mackey had needed to say to Tweek was clearly freaking him out. Resisting the urge to push his way in and calm Tweek down, Craig forced himself to take slow, even breaths. I'm going to have to tell Cartman that I won't be able to fight today. Shit, he won't be happy.
From inside the room, he heard Tweek shriek, "OH JESUS, AUGH! WHY WOULD I DO THAT?!" Holding back any number of things he wanted to do, Craig remembered what Token had said and felt his stomach turn slowly. Maybe the boy had a point, no matter how little Craig wanted to acknowledge that he did. Perhaps teaching Tweek to be more independent was the right answer.
Suddenly, the door beside him banged open and Tweek all but fell into the hallway. Not bothering to close the door behind him, Tweek scrambled to keep his thermos in his grip as he stared at Craig. Looking down at the blond, Craig tried to convey as much calm as he could with his eyes. Shaking diminishing, Tweek grabbed Craig's hand and started pulling him away from the councilor's office as fast as he could.
"What did he want?" Craig asked, stopping Tweek from going any further once they were standing in the hallway that held the doors to the cafeteria. Shaking, Tweek shook his head for a moment, muttering under his breath something about aliens and monsters. Sighing, Craig wrapped an arm around Tweek's shoulder and waited for the boy to calm down.
"H-he said that I shouldn't –ngh- hang out with you because you were a bad influence!" Tweek squeaked, squeezing his eyes shut tight and putting his head down. "I told him no! I don't care!" Feeling something in his chest swell, Craig squashed the feeling by ruffling Tweek's hair and starting them down the hallway.
"I'm glad," he said, focusing on walking to the cafeteria. He really was glad, he didn't like the idea of Tweek running away from him because he was a bad influence. So what if he beat people up, he only did it when he had a good reason, or at least, he only did it now if he had a good reason. That was no cause for Mr. Mackey to be telling Tweek shit about who he could and couldn't hang out with.
"B-but that's not important!" Tweek suddenly shrieked his eyes full of panic even though his shaking didn't get much worse. "You have detention! Now what do we do about the battle!?"
Shrugging, Craig pushed his way into the cafeteria, letting his arm fall from its position around Tweek's shoulders. "Tell Cartman I guess." Walking into the room, not stopping Tweek from latching onto his sleeve, Craig quickly picked out the table where Cartman, Butters, Kenny, Token, and Clyde all sat at and headed for it.
Noticing him, Cartman's eyes narrowed. Before the fat boy could open his mouth, Craig drew up before the table and said flatly, "I can't take part in the battle today." Tweek let out a squeak from behind Craig and the boy had to fight the instinct to put his arm around the boy's shoulders.
"Why not?" Cartman demanded, his mouth turning down in anger. "What's the meaning of this Feldspar?" It was clear he was angry, but Craig didn't flinch. After dealing with that sixth-grader, there was nothing Cartman could do to intimidate him in the slightest. Even so, Craig worried about Tweek freaking out and so he attempted to temper his response.
"I got detention," he told Cartman calmly, shifting on his feet and shoving one of his hands into his pocket. "I can't fight today. Tweek can lead, but I can't."
Turning to the other people at the table, Cartman glanced at Kenny, who raised an eyebrow and said, "Well Fucker, thanks for fucking things up. I guess we'll have to discuss our options." Looking to Tweek, who shivered, Kenny said, "I hope you're prepared to lead an army Tweekers."
"If that's all?" When no one spoke, Craig nodded once. Turning around stiffly, the Noirette pulled Tweek away from the table, not willing to deal with any of their bullshit. Tweek hurried along behind him, keeping close to his side until they'd left the cafeteria. The moment they'd left, Craig turned to Tweek, who was shivering.
"You can do it, you know that, right?" Craig said, his voice firm.
Shivering, Tweek nodded but didn't say a word.
