Kenny
Why did he go in the first place. Kenny couldn't have said. Maybe it was some sort of misguided hope, maybe it was those things he'd been suppressing in an attempt to pretend they didn't exist. Hell, maybe it was Tweek's heart that made him do it. If Butters was to be believed, hearts were a powerful force, not that Kenny would ever truly understand.
He'd never expected Tweek to volunteer when Cartman said, in that whiny and exasperated voice, that someone needed to go rescue Craig from detention, just as Kenny had predicted the fat boy would. Maybe it had something to do with the way his head jerked to the side when Cartman spoke, like he was hearing something that the rest of them weren't hearing. The first thought that had flitted through Kenny's mind was that it was stupid, self-destructive even, for Tweek to want to come at all. But then he'd seen the way the blond's mouth had screwed up into a line, and he'd started to see through to what was going on.
Except he probably should have seen sooner, because at least then things wouldn't have all gone so sideways. Kenny wasn't usually a hopeful person, the world had a tendency of letting you down, after all and god knew that he'd been let down more than his fair share. But in this one thing, he'd hoped, however subconsciously, that things would go better. He'd thought, somehow, that things were about to change, because Tweek wasn't running away from Craig, he was running towards the boy, but maybe Kenny shouldn't have been so optimistic.
Retrospectively, he knew exactly what it had been that had clouded his mind so entirely. It hadn't been Tweek's conflicting actions or his own lack of information or even a simple mistake. No, this had been a willfully misinformed thought that had spawned in his head, simply because he was too weak to resist it.
Butters had that effect on him, telling him that Tweek and Craig were in love, saying that they'd go right back to each other if they had the opportunity. And Kenny had been sure that he saw it too, the way that Tweek was a wreck without Craig, the way he was talking to a vision of Craig just so he wouldn't feel alone. The fact that every time Craig got brought up, Tweek instantly started paying attention whether he wanted to or not.
And he'd seen the hope in the boy's eyes, that undeniable desire for Craig to leave the game, to say fuck the system, to just go back to normal, that Kenny had been sure it would go alright. Sure it wasn't his original plan, but it would work, and it would be better for that, right? Tweek didn't want Craig to suffer, Tweek wanted Craig to smile, ergo, Tweek would do the thing that would make everything better. There were enough seeds in Craig's head to make the boy act in his own best interests at this point. Maybe Kenny would have to end the game on his own, but who gave a shit, at least Tweek and Craig would be happy, and by extension Butters because the naive blond always got upset when other people were suffering.
Somewhere along the line though, someone had screwed something up. The cosmic gods that directed the horrible play that was real life decided to cut the action, skip the scene, and just leave everyone hanging. Kenny hadn't seen it coming, though maybe that was a lesson he should learn, because he didn't know everything, he just felt like he did sometimes. Perhaps, if he'd stepped in, saw what was coming, noticed all the little cues that meant things were about to go horribly sideways, he'd have been able to stop them before it crumbled.
But he hadn't seen them. They'd been nothing but a breath in the wind to him, something you couldn't have noticed if you tried.
In the end, Kenny couldn't help but wonder if it had been his fault that it had happened like it did. Some mistakes, you couldn't undo. He'd written himself into a proverbial corner, and the only result was a meltdown. There were no soft emotions, there was no sweet reconciliation, not when he'd gambled with dice and lost. Except they hadn't been dice, they'd been people, and Kenny had gotten snake eyes the one time it mattered. All of the pushing and all of the pulling, it had lead to something that hadn't worked. It had simply fallen short. He felt responsible.
Maybe he hadn't been all that far off at first. Tweek had certainly acted like he had a purpose, acted like he was acting for Craig, moving towards fixing what had been broken between them, just like Kenny had told him to. Even as they'd been walking there, Tweek with one hand clenched around his frying pan, the other fisted at his side, Kenny had heard the mumbles under his breath and been sure that they were leading towards exactly what he'd expected.
Heck, he was positive that he'd understood Tweek's motivations at first, even though Tweek hadn't explicitly told him. It was the way he mumbled under his breath, talking to someone who wasn't there. "Jesus, w-what if I screw up?! What if he still hates me? I can't handle that -ghn- it would betoomuch!"
Then he'd pause, as whatever he was hearing answered. Kenny hadn't understood entirely but he'd known that Tweek was headed towards the school ready to fight and that had to count for something. Sure, he hadn't expected Tweek to go and somehow knew that it was a horrible idea, but he hadn't been able to let go of it. There was this feeling that things were going to go alright.
But feelings were fucking lies and the only thing Kenny's heart knew was that he would ignore even the clearest signs that things were going to go badly if he could just think for a second that he'd be able to make Butters smile.
"Oh god, th-there's no way! I'm not strong enough to do this! Why am I even trying to rescue him?!" Then he'd screamed, and dug his hands into his hair.
And this, Kenny was pretty sure, was where he'd made the mistake. Instead of keeping silent, letting Tweek work it out on his own, he'd said the thing that in his opinion had been Tweek's damnation. "Come on Tweekers," he'd insisted. "You're plenty strong."
Hindsight was always twenty-twenty but Kenny should have seen this before it even came to be. Because he knew these two. He'd known Craig since the boy was in kindergarten and he'd blackened someone's eye for the first time. He knew the boy didn't understand how to express his emotions normally, even at the best of times.
And he'd known Tweek almost as long, having latched onto the blond and studied his every motivation for years. He could practically see each moment of panic and each bad thought before the boy had it at all. Kenny should have been able to look at this and not do what he did, but his thoughts were clouded, and the daffodil that Butters had given to him was still tucked behind his ear and how was he supposed to fight that?
Probably, he should have fought it a little harder, done the right thing and let the shorter blond be, but instead he'd ruffled Tweek's hair and said, "Besides, we gotta help Fucker out, otherwise he'll think we're weak and you wouldn't want that, now would?"
Which was why, five minutes later, Kenny was texting Craig that they'd have him out in ten minutes.
Beside him, Tweek was looking over the sill of the window, his hands clenching around the small ledge like ten tiny vices. He kept twitching, but he looked more determined that he had in a while, which made Kenny smile as he stared down at the message he'd just sent Craig. He doubted that Craig would be able to tell that Tweek was coming too, but hey, who didn't like a little spontaneity in their life, right?
"Well Tweekers, ready to wreck their shit with your spastic screaming and my impeccable charm?" Kenny asked, slipping his phone back into his parka before smiling up at the boy, who jerked his head down and stared at the Princess with wide, vivid eyes.
Jerking to the side, Tweek let out a soft, "Ngh-" before suddenly slapping a hand over his mouth and screeching, "JESUS NO! CRAIG IS IN THERE!" He looked torn between excitement and terror and uncertainty and pain, which seemed to be wreaking havoc with his mind. Well, what did you expect? Are you really going to just shove him into this?Pushing that dissenting voice back down so he wouldn't have to listen to it, Kenny let a cocky smirk crawl over his lipstick covered lips.
"Well Tweeky, you jittery little barbarian you, that is kinda the whole idea~ After all, if your Craig wasn't in his tower, then why would we be storming the keep in the first place?" Enjoying the sounds that Tweek made in protest to his comment, Kenny got to his feet and swept his skirts out so they fanned around him. Admittedly, after three months, they were starting to look a little tattered, but then, so was everyone else who was playing this goddamn game, so Kenny thought it was fitting, if nothing else.
"Oh Jesus~" Tweek moaned, yanking on his hair. "We're going to g-get in so much trouble! They're gonna give us detention or th-they're going to suspend us and -ghn- th-they're going to expel us and ohjesuswereallgonnadie!"
Well, you're not wrong…
"Tweeky, would I lead you into danger?" Kenny asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Ngh- y E S~?" Tweek strangled out, his face contorting.
Placing a hand over his heart as though hurt, Kenny let out a cry of protest before grinning again. "Come on Tweek, how're we gonna get Fucker back if you keep hiding?" Was that unfair, his poking and prodding at the very things he knew would spur Tweek on to be everything he could be? Well, perhaps, but just because he wanted to make Butters smile by helping the two idiots that went by the names Tweek and Craig figure their shit out didn't mean he couldn't do it with his own dramatic flair. Which, for the record, was something he had in spades.
"I'M NOT -GHN- HIDING!" Tweek exclaimed, letting out a growl before standing up straighter, his eyes blazing. "JESUS STOP SAYING TH-THAT!" Yes, that's good Tweek, get upset, you should be upset. Come on, fight, otherwise we'll never get Craig out of there.
Maybe Kenny should have stopped, maybe he should have said that it was wrong. After all, there had been that voice in the back of his head, trying desperately to tell him that this wasn't going to go well, but he didn't want to accept it. Because if he got them facing each other once more, Tweek in all his glory, and Craig properly grateful for getting rescued, then maybe they'd click back together in that unhealthy way of theirs that defied categorization.
So maybe he could use the excuse that he hadn't been thinking clearly when he next opened his mouth, but really, even he had his weaknesses.
"Then why don't we stop standing around and actually do something," Kenny said, his eyebrows raising tauntingly, pushing Tweek ever so carefully towards the edge of his nervousness and into that confidence that kept fighting the fear in his eyes. "Come on Tweekers, fight."
Clenching his fist around the handle of his pot, Tweek twitched to the side and held his head high. There was so much fucking hope in his eyes, it was almost tangible, like Kenny could have taken it and kept it in a jar.
And maybe he should have, because god knew Tweek had needed it later.
Jerking hard, Tweek nodded once before walking towards the door of the school, his posture reminiscent of the Tweek that Kenny had been seeing the past three months. The barbarian that with Craig had been able to stand up to anything. Right here, he could see it, even without Craig there as Tweek's dangerous shadow.
Kenny had thought that was a good thing.
As they reached the front doors, Kenny fell into line behind Tweek, ready for his call. There was no elaborate plan this time, there was no huge group, there was just Tweek and Kenny, fucking walking right through the front doors. The moment they swung open, Tweek taking the lead and striding in, Kenny spotted the hall monitor. Turning towards them, the boy furrowed his brows, no doubt confused by what was going on. A new one, huh. Well, this isn't going to last long, is it?
In that slightly irritating voice that all gingers seemed to have, the boy wrinkled his nose and said, "Excuse me but school is out." Tweek was vibrating where he was standing, and Kenny knew just how close the boy was to exploding. There was that limit, after all, and once something triggered it… Well, it was just too bad for whoever got in the way. Almost like he didn't know why Tweek and Kenny weren't leaving already, the boy continued, "No students are allowed on the premises until tomorrow at 7:30 AM."
"Give us back our -ngh- thief," Tweek said softly, his voice strangely controlled for something that usually was all over the place. His hand kept clenching over the handle of his pan, and Kenny knew what was coming because he'd seen it a dozen times before. Though he had his bow strapped to his back, Kenny reached for the heavy hand mirror Butters had given him the week before and wrapped dainty fingers around it.
"What?" the Hall Monitor asked in confusion, his brows furrowing. "I can't understand what you're-"
"G-give us back. Our. Thief." Tweek repeated, his voice louder this time. Kenny could see it in his stance, the power held within that wiry body. Oh sure, he'd seen anger before. Craig could be downright terrifying when he was upset, and Kyle literally became nothing but redheaded fire, but Tweek, Tweek just let go entirely.
"Wh- Look, you're in violation of school policy!" the ginger Hall monitor finally snapped, his hands clenched into fists. "Just get out of here. We aren't going to treat this breach lightly, you're going to be punished. Just leave, alright?"
"Grrr- If y-you wanted us to leave-" Suddenly, Tweek moved, his body blurring as he launched himself at the Ginger. "THEN YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE -GHN- T-TAKEN CRAIG!" Before the boy could even begin to defend himself, Tweek was already swinging his pan, aiming it at the boy's chest, knocking him off of his feet and sending him sprawling. The scream that escaped Tweek as he attacked echoed through the halls, leaving them ringing.
Crawling away from the Tweek, who was stalking back towards the Ginger as Kenny walked around to cut him off, the boy looked between them with panicked eyes and scrambled for his walkie talkie. Before either of them could stop him, the boy was yelling into his receiver, "Officer down, officer down! Send back up!"
Stepping forward swiftly, Kenny drew his mirror and clocked the boy with it, knocking him out. Even as he did so, the walkie talkie buzzed and they heard Mr. Mackey yelling,"Oh goddamnit!" That was normal enough, and Kenny just sort of expected the muffled scream that came from Tweek at it, but the next voice that came through the speakers made Tweek freeze entirely.
"And here he comes."
You could see it in his eyes, the way they widened and he twitched violently, the fact that Tweek heard he and thought Craig was talking about him. Of course, Kenny knew it was talking about him instead, but he let Tweek have that, because a moment later, more of the fear fled the boy's eyes and he tightened his fingers around the frying pan, determined.
He might have stood there a moment later, but at that moment, several more hall monitors flooded out from where they'd been patrolling, their hands all clenched around crude weapons, no doubt given to them by Mr. Mackey. "Hey!" one of them called, before Tweek turned towards them and several of the hall monitors started backing up. The blond didn't even react, he just shivered and dragged his frying pan after him, screeching it over the tile floor.
"You're not allowed to be here!" one of the braver Gingers called, his eyes still wide and scared of what was to come. Frankly, Kenny didn't blame him, he would have been pretty apprehensive of facing Tweek in a fight like this too.
As Tweek drew closer to the stairs, his eyes locked on the gingers, Kenny tutted reproachfully and said, "Come now, don't be stupid. Don't tell me you want to gamble with your lives so carelessly here~"
"Look, just get out, okay?" another hall monitor demanded, frustration showing through his voice. "You're breaking the rules."
Tipping his chin up, Tweek asked, "D-do we get Craig back?"
"No!"
Three… Two… One…
Now.
"THEN I'LL F-FUCKING TAKE HIM BACK FROM YOU!" With a feral cry of fury, Tweek leaped forward.
Instantly they were surrounded by pandemonium as the Gingers tried to protect themselves against Tweek. Swinging with a ruthless fury that had been building in him since he decided to come rescue Craig, Tweek unleashed all the emotions as he knocked one Ginger over and forced two others to collide with him. Quickly leaping in to guard his back, Kenny flashed the boy's a flirtatious smile before hitting one of them in the face with his hand mirror, no doubt breaking his nose. As he went down screaming, Kenny giggled and said, "You should've known better than to mess with the Warriors of Zaron~"
"W-we've got to get to the doors!" Tweek yelled, growling as he put another Hall monitor on the ground. "JESUS IT'S TOO MUCHPRESSURE!" Gritting his teeth, albeit in a lady-like way, Kenny dispatched another Ginger before turning to Tweek and grabbing his arm, dragging him towards the railing.
"Then let's go save your Craig," Kenny all but sang, protecting Tweek as the boy ran towards the railing screaming something about how he was going to break his legs. Throwing Kenny one last look, Tweek seized the banister and vaulted over it, landing on the ground and rolling as he did so, coming back up to his feet in a second. Much more lady-like than Tweek, Kenny hit the last Hall Monitor that had attacked them over the head with his mirror before racing for the railing himself.
Tucking his skirts under his legs as he jumped, Kenny flew over the railing and landed on his feet, sitting down beside Tweek, who was staring at the doors like they'd personally wronged him. With a yell, the boy lunged forward and smashed his pan down against the lock, which might have been strong, but hadn't been made to stand up to Tweek. Shattering, the lock gave way and the chains slipped off the door as Tweek broke through them, his frying pan already raised for battle.
It was a good thing it was, because almost instantly several Gingers set upon them, their various weapons raised. Swiping his club to the side, Tweek aimed for their knees, only to change directions in an instant when they went to block him. Keeping clear of Tweek's killer swings, Kenny laid into his own attackers, his blue eyes glinting dangerously as he took them out one by one.
Growling, Tweek finally knocked the last one to the floor and all but shrieked, "W-WE NEED TO GET TO CRAIG!"
Kenny was about to agree, when from the floor where one of the Hall monitors had dropped it, a walkie talkie crackled and a voice came from it. "Tweek?" Craig's voice sounded strangled slightly, like he'd been hit in the chest and couldn't breathe.
And hell if Tweek's eyes hadn't started to shine like the fucking sun.
"C-Craig?!" Tweek all but shrieked, diving for the Walkie Talkie instantly, almost fumbling it to the floor as his hands shook too badly for him to hold it.
"Don't you talk to him Craig Tucker, m'kay? You hear me?"
Ignoring Mr. Mackey, Craig said, "Tweek, I'm here."
"JESUS MAN -NGH- I KNOW!" Tweek screeched, clutching the Walkie Talkie hard enough to break it, his pan lying forgotten at his side.
"By popular demand, we're breaking you out Fucker," Kenny commented, his eyes turning down the hallway as the sounds of shouting and running footsteps came towards them. "Nothing personal, but you suck at staying out of detention."
"Fuck you too McCormick," Craig answered back, and Kenny could see the middle finger as clearly as if the boy was in front of him. Turning to the side again, Kenny gritted his teeth and hoisted his hand mirror once more.
"Now, I hate to rain on this parade, but we've got trouble," Kenny said, already stalking towards the hall monitors, who were armed with long scissors and clipboards as shields, as if that would help them. "Talk later Tweekers, right now, I think it's International Kick a Ginger day."
"Hey Tweek, kick some ass," Craig said, before he was cut off by Mr. Mackey's yelling. Dropping the Walkie Talkie, Tweek seized his frying pan and leaped to his feet, following behind Kenny. As he walked forward, stepping daintily, Kenny held up the mirror and quickly adjusted his wig, tugging the golden curls down around his face.
"You know, you'd think that you would get tired of it eventually…" the boy muttered before catching the shift of a Ginger out of the corner of his eye and lunging forward, blocking the strike before hitting the boy upside the head with his hand mirror. "Because somehow-" Kenny continued, spinning with a flash of glitter and catching the boy behind him across the side of the face. "You just keep attacking us-" Another hit to the boy and he went down, clutching his stomach as he began to puke. "And you just keeplosing."
As Tweek cut down his own Hall Monitors, screaming all the while, Kenny pressed on towards the cafeteria door, beckoning for Tweek to follow him. Racing after him, the blond blasted past Kenny and went straight for the lock on the door, his pan already swinging down on it. His first strike missed, only succeeding in scratching the paint. The second one however connected and the lock blew apart like so much glass.
What happened next, well, Kenny wished to god he could rewind time, but he knew better than anyone that some things were destiny, and sometimes, you'd already fucked up too bad to fix a damn thing.
Doors bursting open under Tweek's pressure, both Kenny and the shorter blond all but fell into the detention room, where a furious Mr. Macky was standing, his hands clenched into fists behind his table. From the front row, Craig rose to his feet, his cloak flowing out behind him like a shadow. The wonder in Tweek's eyes shouldn't have been humanly possible, but oh it was. Almost too slowly, Craig turned around, slowly stepping free of the cafeteria table so he could move properly. For one moment, a moment in which Kenny was sure lasted for a life time for the two, time seemed to stop.
In a strangled, desperate voice, Tweek yelled, "Ngh- C-CRAIG!"
Like he might have died if he didn't say it, Craig took a step towards Tweek and breathed, "Tweek." He said the word like it was his religion.
And in that moment, everything had gone horribly sideways.
Suddenly, Craig's eyes shadowed and his face went from openly flat to guardedly deadpan. As the air in the room darkened, the boy shook his head minutely as the light in his eyes went out. Kenny felt his own chest go cold as he watched the boy, who'd been so happy the moment before suddenly change entirely as he started backing up, shaking his head once more.
No, that's not how it's supposed to go, Kenny thought distantly, wanting to speak but unsure what he was even supposed to say. Craig wasn't supposed to run away, he was supposed to stand up and run to Tweek, he was supposed to- to make things right! But he didn't, he just stared at Tweek with that guarded expression like he couldn't even begin to trust the blond with any of his emotions, even while Tweek bared his soul with that expression which said fucking everything.
The sound Tweek made, the soft, muffled whimper, Kenny could see it break Craig's heart.
But then Tweek was backing up, gripping his frying pan like he was ready to hurt anyone that talked to him. Clearly knowing that he'd done something wrong, Craig tried to take a step forward, but the look in his eyes was so wrong, it only made the room get colder. Opening his mouth, trying to look for something to say, Craig flatly said, "You rescued me."
"NO!" Tweek suddenly yelled, surprising all of them. "NO I -NGH- D-DIDN'T! I DIDN'T- JESUS I DIDN'T DOITFORYOU!" As the temperature dropped another few degrees, Tweek continued, "I- I did it for myself! CAUSE -RRR- I D-DON'T NEED YOU! DON'T EVER LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! B-BECAUSE I'M STRONG -GHN- W-WITHOUT YOU!"
"Tweek-" Craig tried, the self-loathing evident in every note, even though it was said flatly.
"Jesus, let's just g-go!" Tweek snapped. And as he turned around, Kenny caught the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "Th-they need you to get the Stick back."
And he was gone, leaving Craig standing there, broken in spirit, if not in expression.
As his stomach sank, Kenny gritted his teeth. Well.. Fuck.
