Tweek
"I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
Tweek twitched and glanced around in surprise. Somehow, they'd already made it to his home, which was downright confusing to be perfectly honest. It was dark outside, entirely dark. Craig and he had spent quite a bit of time in the forest after all, silent and contemplative. They'd only decided to head home after Craig said something about his parents getting upset if he wasn't back in time. Tweek had imagined that it would take longer for them to get to his house, but it had taken an almost depressingly short amount of time.
Then again, they'd spent at least an hour just sitting up in the tree, calm, talking only when they felt like it. Tweek was still surprised it had happened at all, seeing as he'd been convinced that Craig would never speak to him again. Yet the boy had come, and things had returned to normal, the fog had cleared from Craig's eyes. It hadn't mattered that he'd ended up in tears, because the moment the Noirette had arrived, Tweek had known that it would be okay.
And he'd been right. Now they were standing outside of his house, Tweek's hand tucked into Craig's, just like normal.
"Y-yeah," Tweek agreed, shivering slightly and tightening his fingers around his, now empty, thermos. "I guess so." Thinking back to what Mr. Mackey had said, Tweek twitched and muttered, "Jesus man, we're gonna be in so much trouble." It's okay, I was rescuing Craig, I would do it again. It was true, but that didn't stop him from trembling.
The other boy was silent for a moment, as if working out what he meant, then his hand ruffled Tweek's hair softly. "We'll live," Craig commented, looking down at Tweek calmly. For a moment, they just stood there, then Craig dropped Tweek's fingers and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Tweek's eyes gravitated to the bruises decorating Craig's face, but it was the boy's calm gaze that kept his attention from darting away.
Everything was okay again. Tweek knew that, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Raising an eyebrow, Craig sucked in his cheeks before spinning on his heels and ambling back down the street, leaving Tweek standing there outside his own house, watching him go. After a moment of silence that felt empty without Craig's presence to fill it, Tweek hurried inside, his hands fumbling with the spare key for a moment before he managed to unlock the door.
Quickly darting inside, worried as always that something was going to get in, Tweek slammed the door behind him before locking it. Turning to face the rest of the house, the blond only had a moment of peace before his stomach lurched uncomfortably. Sitting at the kitchen table, with those blank, smiling faces turned towards him, were Tweek's parents. Letting out a squeak, Tweek flattened himself against the door, wishing that he could just run outside again and catch Craig before he got too far away.
"Hello, son," Tweek's dad said amicably, still smiling. "Have a seat." He gestured to Tweek's usual place, which was empty of everything except a coffee mug that appeared to be full of fresh coffee. "We need to have a talk." Oh Jesus, what do they want to talk about? What did I do? It's too much pressure! But it wasn't like he could get out of it, not when both his mom and dad were watching him with those unaffected, unflinching smiles. Twitching, the blond let out an involuntary noise before walking forward reluctantly, shaking as he did so.
As he sat at the table, biting his lip to keep from screaming, Tweek vibrated in his chair as he looked between his mom and dad, waiting for them to do something. Suddenly remembering that he was still in full battle gear, courtesy of Craig bringing his things back to him, Tweek let out a strangled sound and frantically tried to rub the coffee stains off of his face, as if he was going to be able to do anything about them like this. Are they upset about me taking those coffee grounds? But they weren't going to use them? Why are they both here, they never do this!
"Have some coffee Sweetie," his mother insisted, smiling and tilting her head slightly, her porcelain skin looking almost sickly in the artificial lights of the dining room. Jerking to the right, Tweek made a sound before grabbing for the coffee quickly and taking several big gulps of it. There was nothing intrinsically wrong with it, but Tweek felt like he could taste the fakeness of everything. Why are they staring at me?!
"Tweek," his father started, the moment he'd put the mug back down. "Today we got a rather interesting call from the principal of your school." At those words, Tweek had to slap a hand over his mouth to hold back a screech. Shaking, mind filling with terror, Tweek went through everything that had happened today and started to feel viscerally sick. OH GOD, THEY KNOW WHAT I DID! THE PRINCIPAL TOLD THEM AND NOW THEY'RE GOING TO NEVER LET ME SEE DAYLIGHT AGAIN!
"Principal Victoria said you broke another student out of detention," Tweek's mother supplied, her tone airy and winsome as if they were discussing the weather and not the blonde's imminent demise. "She said that you also beat up several ginger students." THEY JUST HAPPENED TO BE GINGER I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE OH GOD WHY DID THEY CALL MY PARENTS?!
"Now son," Richard Tweak started, still smiling because of course he didn't care that his son was ripping his hair out and shaking like a leaf. "You're in sixth grade now. I understand that this age is a very confusing time, but this behavior is just unacceptable." Teeth creaking as he clenched them together, Tweek let out a whimper as he yanked on his hair. I'm not even in sixth grade, they don't even remember, why are they talking to me about this at all? Why are they so calm about it?!
"B-but they were keeping Craig in the dungeon!" Tweek blurted out, instantly wanting to curl up and die for even opening his mouth. Yet he couldn't stop from babbling, "He –ghn- g-got detention for no reason! It was s-stupid! I had to rescue him." Finally managing to shut himself up Tweek's eyes flickered between his parents, waiting for them to say something but neither of them reacted to a word that he'd just said, they just kept staring at him.
"You know son, if you do things like this, I'll have to sell you into slavery," Tweek's father told him as if Tweek had never opened his mouth at all. "At least we'd make some money off of you that way." Tweek really did scream at that. JESUS, I CAN'T BE SOLD INTO SLAVERY! I'D NEVER SEE CRAIG AGAIN AND I'D BE ALL ALONE AND I'D DIE! Completely ignoring his son's outburst, Richard Tweak continued, "We could sell you to a coffee plantation, so you could pick coffee beans until your fingers fell off." He said it so placidly, Tweek felt his panic only getting worse.
"ACK! JESUS I'M SORRY!" Tweek screeched, what little he had in the way of nails scraping against his scalp, leaving long marks behind. "I –ngh- w-won't do it again, I swear!" Shivering, Tweek tried to get his breathing under control but he couldn't, his throat wouldn't work right. It was made all the worse because they just kept smiling and he was sure they were robots at this point because only robots would act like this.
"Tweek needs more coffee," Richard Tweek told his wife, not even looking down at Tweek's glass before saying so. As his mother hurried to comply, her absent demeanor not stopping her from performing the motions with perfect precision, Tweek let out a moan of terror. Even though his fingers felt frozen, the blond stared at his coffee and finally managed to let his hair go. Grabbing for the coffee once more, Tweek tightened his grip around the warm ceramic, trying to keep calm.
It was a losing battle. Oh god, what are they going to do to me?! Why do they have to choose now to remember they have a child? Tweek didn't know, he never knew, but that didn't change the fact that his father was smiling in a pleased way, as if all was right with the world.
After the silence had stretched on long enough for Tweek to wonder if they'd gotten stuck in a time loop, his dad moved, unfolding his hands from where they had been in front of him. "Son, let me tell you a story," his father suggested pleasantly, getting to his feet so he could stand behind Tweek's mother, who tilted her head again and blinked her doll eyes so perfectly. "When I was younger, I was quite the troublemaker myself. I'd always do stupid things that were petty and childish, but I thought were quite fun."
"It's true," his mother agreed in her high, floaty voice. "He was quite the rascal." Tweek shivered in his seat, unsure what he was supposed to do. He never understood his parent's stories, they never made a bit of sense, but maybe this time, they'd manage to put together one that he understood.
"Well, at one point, one of the other children convinced me to actually skip a class." Shaking his head as if disappointed by his own foolish youth, Richard Tweak continued, "Well, you can imagine that the teachers at my school were less than pleased with me. So they called me to the office and gave me a detention." Blinking, Tweek's dad smiled for a moment longer before grabbing for the mug of coffee that had been sitting before his own place and walking towards the kitchen with it.
Getting to her feet as well, Tweek's mother took her own cup as well as the coffee pot and started towards the kitchen, leaving Tweek in his seat, staring after them and twitching violently. "Well?" he squeaked, shivering as he sat there. "W-what happened?!"
"Oh, I think the principal ended up getting hit by a car and the school closed for a few days," Tweek's dad called from the other room, still as cheerful as ever. "Isn't that right?"
Looking to Tweek with a smile, his mom nodded slightly and said, "Yes, school was out for a week." As if this was a satisfactory ending to the story, they both vanished, leaving Tweek alone in the room. Breathing growing ragged, Tweek suddenly let out a shriek and slammed his head against the table, splashing some of his remaining coffee over its wooden surface.
Hitting his head over and over again, Tweek screamed, "AUGH! YOU GUYS NEVER HAVE ANYTHING USEFUL TO SAY! YOU'RE JUST ALIENS!" Why is this my life!? WHY AM I STUCK WITH THESE PEOPLE?! THEY AREN'T EVEN HUMAN!
Peeking his head back in, Richard Tweak smiled and said, "Now son, don't you think fifteen is a little old to be believing in aliens?" Staring at the man, his mouth open in a silent moan of mental agony, Tweek jerked to one side and ended up toppling out of his chair, crashing to the floor with an unholy racket as his various weapons clattered against the floor. Like he hadn't even noticed, Tweek's dad called, "Have a good night son," before returning to the kitchen.
Laying there, sprawled on the floor, Tweek stared at the slightly blurry ceiling and wished that Craig was there until he thought his brain was going to explode, before he forced himself to scramble to his feet. Grabbing his half-finished coffee off the table, Tweek scrambled up towards his room, his mind nothing but an oppressive static. He almost wished he'd have gotten in trouble, because at least that way he would have been able to pretend like his parents were human, but no, it had been another dead end conversation that only freaked him out.
I'm going to get detention tomorrow, I know I am. Why do I have to get detention? Jesus, what if they give Craig detention again as well! Oh god, they wouldn't do that, he doesn't deserve it! Of course it didn't matter, adults never helped, they never cared. They were just children who'd gotten taller and meaner. Pushing into his room, putting his coffee on his side table, Tweek struggled to throw off his various pieces of equipment, leaving them all piled in a corner like he usually did. He felt miserable, but then he always felt miserable when he was alone in his room, so really there wasn't much of a change there.
Striping out of the rest of his clothing, Tweek wandered around for a moment, unsure what he was supposed to do next. Catching sight of his own reflection, Tweek stumbled forward, stood in front of his mirror and stared at himself, at the stripes covering his arms and torso, put there by Craig's gentle hands. Under them, he could see the bruises he'd managed to accumulate that day. His ribs on one side were yellow, probably from where the sixth-grader had kicked him and the bruise on his cheek was still noticeable. Adding to that the injuries he'd gotten fighting Stan, Tweek found himself pretty black and blue indeed.
Staring at himself in the eye, Tweek clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes, trying to look scary. Letting out a growl, Tweek started at his mirror, as if he were going to attack it, but the squeaking of the window behind him caused Tweek to let out a high shriek and stumble forward. Smacking his forehead against the glass, Tweek collapsed to the floor, his body twisting weirdly as it slid down the length of his closet door. Jesus, the ax murderer is going to get me! Leaping backward with another scream, Tweek twisted wildly, trying to figure out who was there at all.
"Tweekers," Kenny tutted, shaking his head as he slipped into the room. "Don't act so shooken, it's just me, no monsters here~" Don't you know that's worse! Scrambling to his feet, suddenly aware he was only in his underwear and Kenny was staring at him quite curiously, Tweek let out a squeak and darted for the tee-shirt Craig had left behind. Struggling into the Pirate Guinea Pig shirt, glad that it sagged down to his thighs, Tweek shivered and stared up at Kenny.
"What do you want?" Tweek asked, suddenly lunging forward and grabbing his coffee cup, remembering Kenny's habit of stealing it when he got the chance. Kenny had lost his princess dress at some point between the festival and coming here. Now, the only sign he'd spent all afternoon dressed as a girl was the mascara still on his eyelashes and the rosy cheeks. Why does he always show up? What does he want this time?! What if Cartman sent him and I have a mission? I won't do it! It's the middle of the night, they have no idea what's out there!
Lazily sauntering forward, Kenny fell back on Tweek's bed and stretched across it luxuriously. Looking up at Tweek, upside-down and through half-lidded eyes, Kenny let out a chuckle and said, "Oh, I dunno, just wanted to check up on my bestest friend in the whole wide world." When Tweek let out a whimper and tugged at his hair with his free hand, Kenny grinned and let his eyes slip closed. "Tweeky, you're just too easy." Jesus, what's that supposed to mean?!
"Th-that's not a reason!" Tweek accused, his face contorted in fear as he stared at Kenny, careful not to get too close to the edge of his bed in case the monsters lunged out and grabbed him. "Y-you only ever come here when –ghn- you want to t-torment me!" His accusation caused Kenny's calm face to pinch in consternation, as if his words had hurt the boy.
Cranking open one eye, Kenny hummed low in his throat and asked, "So did F- Tucker ever find you? He was all worried and worked up and looking as constipated as ever, I'd hate to think that you two never made nice at the end." Twitching at the thought of Craig, in mental pain because of Tweek, the blond let out a distressed whimper that Kenny only laughed at. "I'll take that as a yes then."
"Grr- W-why do you even care?" Tweek squeaked, his hands trembling around the warm ceramic of his mug. He'd never understand why Kenny got so wrapped up in his business when he couldn't possibly care. It was just another thing he did to annoy him. "It's not like it makes a difference whether we're talking or not!" The only one it mattered to was him. Craig, as well he supposed, but definitely not Kenny, who only drifted through his life and didn't seem about to take up any sort of permanent residence there.
"Of course it matters to me Tweekers," Kenny said brightly, his fingers wiggling about. "I'm pretty sure that everyone wants you two to stay friends, it's a comforting sight to see after all." Comforting?! Is he going crazy for real? Why would he say something like that? When Tweek let out a squeak, Kenny stuck his bottom lip out and commented, "It sounds so strange to say it out loud, but I think people like to imagine that even if they're as fucked up as the two of you, there's always going to be someone else who will put up with them."
Staring at Kenny, Tweek shuddered as he thought about so many people noticing him and pushed out, "W-we're fine, everything's fine." He didn't want to talk about the rest of it, not with Kenny at any rate. There was something about that time that he'd spent with the Noirette that seemed precious, not something he wanted to just hang out in the open for anyone to see.
Letting a lazy smile crawl over his face, Kenny said, "Wonderful." Then he just lay there, silent. Twitching, Tweek waited for him to say something else, but it quickly became apparent that he had nothing more to say. What? Why isn't he saying anything else? Is he done? Why on earth would that be important enough to warrant coming over here?
"Is that the only reason you came?!" Tweek asked, trying to take a sip of his coffee but shaking too hard to manage it. I've had too much today for this, why won't Kenny just go away! "You could have asked me tomorrow. Jesus, w-why would you come all the way over here for something like that?" He hated it when Kenny did things like this, but the boy had always had a mind of his own so Tweek wasn't very surprised to be entirely honest.
Turning over so he could look at Tweek right side up, Kenny propped his chin up on his elbows and admitted, "I was going to go and see Butterfree but he was in the middle of getting yelled at." Eyes growing coldish almost, Kenny shrugged it off, as if it had no consequence. "I decided to go for a walk rather than go back home. I passed by your house. I decided to stop by." Biting his lip, Tweek relaxed slightly, deciding that this honestly wasn't the worst reason Kenny had ever given.
"W-why is Butters in trouble?" Tweek asked before he could stop himself. Feeling shame crawling up his neck, Tweek quickly took several sips of his coffee, trying not to look at Kenny. He knew he shouldn't be prying into other people's business but he wasn't sure what else he was supposed to say to Kenny. It wasn't like the usually had things they talked about. Mostly, Kenny just drove him crazy and then laughed at his outbursts.
Chuckling bitterly, Kenny shook his head. "Oh, it's not important Tweekers, nothing for you to worry your crazy blond head about." Almost glad that Kenny hadn't answered, Tweek looked around his room for something to do and ended up wandering over to his Lego table. As the boy set his coffee cup down and started picking at pieces with twitching fingers, Kenny softly mused, "You and Craig are an interesting pair, aren't you?"
"Ngh-" Shivering at the mention of Craig, Tweek jerked his head around to look at the blond before looking back at his own hands, unsure how he was supposed to answer. Why can't he ever make sense? Why does it all have to be some sort of game!? Frustrated, more with his own inability to comprehend what was going on than with Kenny, Tweek snapped several Legos together without any real pattern before mumbling, "We're n-not interesting."
"You see, usually I'd agree with that," Kenny commented, his tone thoughtful. "And really, there are far crraaizer things around South Park than just little ol' you. But a surprising number of people are watching you two Tweekster, even if they don't see anything other than what they expect to see. In fact, you two are practically the poster children for seeing what you want to." Kenny fell silent once more and Tweek added several more pieces to his creation, unsure what he was building but finding it decidedly better than freaking out about what Kenny was saying.
Snapping out of his own thoughts, Kenny finished, "But with all that attention, you've also got all the wrong eyes on you, and those eyes are watching very closely." Head snapping up at that, Tweek let his fingers keep moving over the Legos, just so he wouldn't tear his own hair out, while he stared fearfully at Kenny. Tapping the side of his nose, Kenny stretched languidly and got to his feet so he could slowly wander over to the blond. "I'd tell you to be careful, but since when does anyone listen to me? I'm just another freak at the sideshow."
"W-what are you trying to say?" Tweek asked fearfully, feverishly snapping Legos together without focusing on them. I don't get it, why is he telling me to be careful? Who are the wrong eyes? Who's watching us!? WHY CAN'T HE JUST MAKE SENSE? Dropping his creation onto his desk, Tweek grabbed for his coffee and finished it off, draining every last drop in an attempt to calm his nerves.
Leaning over Tweek, Kenny softly said, "I'm just saying that someday, it's all going to catch up with you. Whether you'll like it or not, well, that's a tossup, isn't it?" Reaching forward, the boy picked up the thing Tweek had just built and held it above his head. "Hah, it's a guinea pig, isn't it?" Looking at it himself, Tweek's eyes suddenly widened and he snatched the rough figurine of Stripe out of Kenny's hands.
Shaking his head, Kenny stuffed his hands into his pockets and said, "Later Tweeky, I'm done bothering you. I'm going to go bother Buttercream now." Walking towards the window, Kenny climbed back through the thing and called after him, "Don't have a heart attack too soon!" before shutting the thing.
Tweek just stared at his Legos, unable, for the life of him, to understand what Kenny had meant.
