A month has passed. I've finally gotten really used to the handcuffs that Kenny gave me, and I'm actually really thankful for them, believe it or not. Cartman's friends, including Butters, visit pretty often, especially Kenny and Butters. I like them both a lot, even though they're two completely different guys. Cartman's only got a week left here now. He seems to be excited about it, to finally go back to the outside, but he said once that he'll miss me, which means he sorta wants to stay. Bradley and I have been ignoring each other ever since I accidentally mentioned his parents. I feel really guilty for doing it, and I want to apologise, but my pride's saying to me 'Why should you apologise? He was the one being a dick to you.', so I haven't. At least I want to apologise. Bradley's not even trying. If I had a penny for every time he gives me a mean look, I'd be a billionare.
Craig… is pretty different. He still hasn't been sleeping properly, which really worries me. What can possibly be so distracting for him, that it deprives him of even sleeping? He still tries to act the same to me though, which is pretty kind of him. I say try, because I've noticed, ever since our escape attempt, he's been acting really awkward around me, and much more emotional. He has no idea how much it scares me, to see him so … I can't describe how he looks. It's not happy though, I can tell that much.
Recently, for about the past week, I've been going to 'school' with everyone, even though I don't have to, now that I'm the son of a psychologist. Dad saw me walking out of the class and confronted me about it.
"Why are you attending school? You don't have to. I thought you hated it."
"… Because I want to learn." I said genuinely, and walked away, not waiting for my new Dad's reply.
It's actually true. I want to learn. I see Bradley so committed to his school work, and he gets rewarded for it. He gets praise, and he's regarded as smart, and overall, he gets a good education. I thought, 'I wanna be like that too.' So I've been going to class and actually trying with my work. It's paid off so far, I feel so much smarter, and the staff look at me with more admiration now. Not that I haven't been taking advantage of my keys though. I go outside for at least an hour every day, just to enjoy the snow. Some of the kinder nurses saw how well behaved I'm being, so they started asking me to do small favours/errands around the hospital for them. I still do them, quite a lot.
Right now though, I'm watching Bradley writing something on a piece of paper. He's sure taking his time with it. Bradley catches me staring, and moves his arm over the paper, as if I'm actually gonna try and read it from like 15ft away. I know they say curiosity killed the cat, but seriously…
"What are you writing…?" I ask, trying to sound nice, even though Bradley's probably the last person on earth I wanna be nice to. Seriously.
"… A … A letter."
"To whom?"
"That's none of your business, Tweek." I slump, knowing I'll never find out what it says. Unless…
I get some paper out from my drawer, grab a pen, and start scribbling a note on it.
Thomas, while Bradley's not looking, reach through the whole in your wall and grab the letter he's writing. I'll use my keys to come outside and get it from you. Sorry to trouble you, but the curiosity's killing me.
Tweek.
I scrunch up the note into a ball.
"Hey Bradley." Bradley looks up irritably, disturbed from writing his precious letter.
"Note to Thomas." Bradley sighs, gets up, takes the paper from me, and gives it to Thomas, then goes back to writing that letter for God knows who. I watch Thomas read the note, twitching impatiently. I'm still not shaking, which is great. I feel so relaxed these days. I'm still suffering from anxiety, and can have possible breakdowns, but I don't shake, which is truly awesome. Thomas looks up from the note and smiles at me, nodding. Yes! He'll do it. Now to distract Bradley. I pull my most treasured ever possession out of my pocket. The phone Craig gave me for my birthday.
"Look what Craig gave me for my birthday, Bradley." I hold the phone up in the air. Bradley turns from the letter and stares at it, looking envious. I see Thomas quickly grab the paper. I smirk at the success of stealing the paper and put the cell back in my pocket. Bradley nods in approval and turns back around, ready to continue writing. He jumps up when he realises the paper's not there.
"What the hell? Thomas, give it back!" I grab my keys from my desk and open my door, making Bradley watch in confusion. I stride over to Thomas' cell, holding in my excitement to see what the letter says. Bradley realises what I'm doing and glowers at me.
"Tweek, don't even think about it." He says threateningly. It's a good thing I know Craig, because the old me would've never had the guts to do this. I guess Craig just has the power to make me confident and evil at the same time. I totally ignore Bradley, and gesture for Thomas to shove the letter under the door. Thomas nods obediently and shoves it roughly under the door, crumpling it pretty badly. Bradley cringes.
"B-Be careful with that!" He says, knocking his fists together uneasily, sorta like Butters does sometimes. Jeez, this letter's really important to him.
"What the hell does this thing say?" I pick the piece of paper off the floor and straighten it, trying to see what it says.
"Dear Butters…" I read.
"DON'T READ IT OUT LOUD!" Bradley shouts frantically, looking really freaked out. All the patients pause from whatever they're doing and stare. I gradually stop reading it out loud, for Bradley's sake, but that doesn't stop me from reading altogether. I blush heavily as I read all of the contents. Bradley watches me helplessly from a distance, blushing just as heavily as me.
"… A … A love letter to Butters… Really Bradley? Really?" Bradley's puts his head in his hands, probably feeling really hopeless.
"I mean… I know you like him and that… but this is … hard core."
"You know?"
"Of course I know. You're my… my best friend. Besides, I know all about stuff like that. 'Cause after all, I like Cr-
I stop in mid-sentence and look away, one of my hands clamped over my mouth. I can feel Bradley's eyes burning a hole into me.
"So you like Craig, huh?" After a short while, I nod slowly.
"Since whe-
"Tweek Tweak! Your father's waiting for you!" I send an apologetic look to Bradley and run over to the nurse, letting her handcuff me. With my special fluffy handcuffs of course.
"Why did you want to see me? We've already had our session today." I ask as I open the door to Dad's office. My heart leaps when I see Craig there. YES!
"Dad's not here. I asked the nurse to tell you he was here. Prank." Craig says, smiling, while grabbing a key out of nowhere and unlocking my handcuffs. He somehow always does that. What a rule breaker. I'm meant to be hadcuffed everywhere except for when I have sessions with Dad. I pisses me off how he tries to act happy, when I can definitely tell there's something wrong with him. I give him a fake smile. I spot a little girl with red hair next to him. She looks about four years old. She's really cute.
"Aw, who's this?" Craig looks at the girl, as if he'd actually forgot she's here. He probably did.
"Oh. This is Ruby. My… our little sis."
"Wow, she's really cute." Craig puts his arm around her and gives her a one-armed hug, trying to strangle her.
"Don't let that fool you. She's a little devil." Just as he says that, Ruby bites his arm, through his jacket, making him immediately release her.
"See what I mean?" Craig says, frowning slightly while rubbing his arm. Ruby sticks her tongue out at him and looks at me.
"Who's that?" She asks Craig, pointing at me.
"Stop pointing Ruby. It's rude. That's Tweek. Remember I told you about him?" Ruby instantly smiles at me. I wave awkwardly, not having much experience with young girls. She runs over and tackles me, out of nowhere, crushing me in a super hug. I look questionably at Craig, while struggling to breathe.
"Um… she's pretty strong." Ruby glares and gives Craig the bird. She turns back around and smiles sweetly at me.
"Tweek's Ruby's big brother!" So she talks in third person. I look over to see what Craig's doing. Wow, I can literally see the deathly aura around him. I don't understand why he's so jealous. It's just his sister.
"I guess I am your big bro…" I reply, patting her head, trying to be brotherly. Her eyes practically glow from happiness. I guess our parents never really give her any sort of affection.
"I like Tweek better than Craig." Craig ignores the comment and pulls her off me, still looking angry. I think he's just cranky from lack of sleep. Craig puts Ruby down and start telling her off. I observe him, feeling upset by how tired he is. I can't bear him looking like that…
"…Craig…" I say quietly.
"Ruby, you just met him. You don't just…"
"Craig."
"… someone out of nowhere like that, ok? You see-"
"Craig!"
"What is it, Tweek?"
"You … You need to sleep…!" I tell him, feeling almost paranoid. Craig looks confused, as is he actually doesn't know what I'm talking about.
"Where'd that come from? I'm fi-
"No you're not!" I shout, grabbing my hair in frustration. Craig's stares at me, shocked, while Ruby looks around uncomfortably, biting her nails. She knows what's going on. She knows.
"…Why're you so worried, Tweek?" Craig asks quietly, trying to look me straight in the eyes, while I keep trying to avoid him. I notice Ruby grimace.
"… Lately, you just seem so different. You always look so unhappy and uncomfortable around me… I figured it was lack of…" I shake my head and sit on the couch. Ruby follows and climbs onto my lap, before I can have a chance to push her off. Craig slumps his shoulders and walks over to me.
"Look Tweek, it's not that I feel uncomfortable around you or anything. I'm just freaked out by the fact that I … I…" Craig coughs and covers his mouth, breathing heavily.
"What is it?" Craig inhales deeply.
"… Nothing. Just something creepy that happened at school. It's nothing…" Craig gives me a fake smile and sits next to me. Like hell I'll believe that, but I'll play along, for Craig's sake. Ruby shifts on my lap, looking like she's in a trance. I wonder why. It's not natural for someone her age to be that strange. Even I wasn't like that. Ruby eyes the TV in front of us. I've never watched on it before, since I'm just a patient.
"Hey, Tweek, can Ruby watch it?" Ruby asks innocently, reminding me of Butters. Looks like she's broken out of her trance.
"I guess." I look around for a remote, smiling as I see one right in front of me, on the coffee table. Wow, this office is weird. TV, couch, coffee table. Just put in a ice cream bar and be done with it.
"YAY!" Ruby switches on the TV. I think this is my first time watching one. It looks like a security camera on the screen. What the hell?
"Ruby thinks this is a movie…" Ruby says, pressing a button on the remote.
"What does the info box say? What's the name of the movie?" So she can't read.
"It says 'Paranormal Activity'…" I tell her, taking no notice of what Craig's doing. Paranormal Activity? What the hell kind of name's that?
"Hey Craig, what's…?" I instantly stop speaking as I see Craig leaning heavily on my shoulder, fast asleep. I think I've died and gone to heaven. Craig's leaning on me, for Christ's sake!
"… Tweek loves big brother lots…" Ruby says out of nowhere, not taking her eyes off of the TV. She seems to find this creepy horror movie interesting for some reason. She's twisted, I guess. Just like her brother. In a good way though. Twisted in a good way…
"What … what d'ya mean…?" Ruby looks at me as if I'm retarded.
"Ruby can tell Tweek loves big brother a lot." Man, this kid's creepy. Is she telepathic or something? She probably is. She should meet Kenny. They'd like each other a lot.
"…Yeah… I do." Maybe she just means it in a brotherly way.
"Tweek should give Craig a love letter…" Or not.
"L-Look Ruby, don't tell anyone I like-
"Love."
"…Don't tell anyone I lo… love Craig. Ok?" Ruby looks at me knowingly.
"And why not?" She asks in a voice that sounds as if she already knows the answer. In a way, that scares me, because I don't really know the answer myself.
"… 'Cause … 'Cause it's wrong for me to like-
"Love."
"It's wrong for me to … love … him that way." Ruby's expression turns from knowing to confused.
"Why?"
"Because we're both boys…"
"…Craig doesn't care about that."
"What?"
"Craig loves Tweek because he's Tweek." She tells me sincerely. So she thinks it's normal to be g… gay? God, I hate that word. Wait a minute … Craig loves me?
"He what?" Ruby rolls her eyes and sighs irritably.
"Craig loves Tweek because he's Tweek. Jeez." … I'm still trying to process what she said in my mind.
"…Craig … loves… me? That way?" Ruby smiles cutely.
"Uh huh! Craig doesn't want to accept it though. That's why Craig's been so 'uncomfortable' with Tweek. And Craig can't sleep because Craig never stops thinking about Tweek." She nods to herself knowingly and looks back at the TV, watching some couple screaming. I lean back against the couch, repeating Ruby's words in my mind.
"…Craig doesn't care about that."
"Craig loves Tweek because he's Tweek."
"Craig loves Tweek because he's Tweek. Jeez."
"Uh huh! Craig doesn't want to accept it though. That's why Craig's been so 'uncomfortable' with Tweek. And Craig can't sleep because Craig never stops thinking about Tweek."
"Does…" Ruby looks from the TV to me, a bored expression on her face.
"… Does … he know … I like-
"Love." I finally lose my patience and glare at Ruby. She glares back even more, similar to the way Craig glare and Dad glare. I stop glaring and slump in defeat.
"Does he know I love him that way?"
"Mmhm. Craig told me he knows."
"…Who told him?"
"… Ruby doesn't know who." She's lying.
"Tweek… Tweek!" What? Oh crap, I fell asleep. I open my eyes to see Dad standing over us. Ruby's on my lap and Craig's still leaning on my shoulder. They're both dead asleep. They must've been really tired, especially Craig. I push Ruby gently off me, trying not to be forceful. She wakes up immediately and rubs the back of her head, looking drowsy. Unlike his sister, Craig's a heavy sleeper.
"Craig, wake up." Dad blushes at what Craig's doing. He coughs and looks away, not really wanting to see. Ruby glares at him, probably for acting homophobic. Craig finally wakes up, leaning away from me and rubbing his eyes.
"What is it? I was sleeping like a lo…" Craig freezes when he sees me next to him. His eyes travel from my shoulder to my eyes. His mouth drops open in horror and embarrassment.
"Was I just…?" I nod, smiling nervously, not sure how he'll react. He returns my nervous smile and gets up. He glares at Ruby for God knows what, to get an excuse not to look at me.
"Guys, you've been in here for four hours. Craig, if you don't want your mother to yell at you again for skipping school, then we need to get going. You can go where you want Tweek, just make sure you get back to your cell by nine."
"Alright…" I say, watching Craig pat Ruby's head. Man, they're very good siblings to each other. It makes me feel like I'm intruding, which isn't that great.
"Come on you two. Stop being so dramatic after whatever you fought about." Dad picks up Ruby and starts walking outside.
"Wait! Ruby wants to say goodbye to Tweek!" Ruby struggles out of her… our Dad's grip and runs over to me. She grabs my hand and pulls me down to my knees, so that we're face to face.
"Bye-bye, Tweek. Ruby likes having Tweek as her new big bro." She smiles innocently at me. I would smile back, but before I have a chance, she grabs my shoulders and gives me a small kiss on the cheek. Not a romantic one, a sisterly one. Either way, it makes Craig scowl, and Dad's jaw drop open. Ruby pulls away after a split second and smiles at me in her cute way.
"Tweek's a good brother." Thank. God. That proves she doesn't think of her and I romantically. Dad picks Ruby up once again, blushing at her innocence. Craig's still glaring daggers at her. I wonder why the hell he's so jealous. I'm almost one hundred per cent sure that he doesn't like me romantically. I would say completely one hundred, but what Ruby said earlier… has made me unsure. Not to mention when Dad thought the same thing, when he was asking why we'd attempted to escape.
"Ok, you said bye. We're going, young lady." Dad carries Ruby out of the room.
"Craig! Hurry up!" He shouts, sounding rushed. 'Mom' must be really scary. Craig rolls his eyes and starts making his way to the exit, fidgeting. He pauses at the door. I'm about to ask what's wrong, but before I could utter a word, Craig runs over with lightning speed, grabs my shoulders, and presses his lips to my cheek. Oh God, my heart's beating so fast. Craig's kiss… is definitely not brotherly. He pulls away after about five seconds, unlike Ruby, whose kiss was only a peck. Craig pulls his hat over his eyes, to make it impossible for us to make eye contact, smiles bitterly, and runs out the door as fast as I've ever seen him run, after his… our family. I put my hand to my cheek, feeling dazed.
I … will … never … wash … my … face … again.
I walk down the hall, still feeling dazed. Craig just did something … so un-Craig like. Not to mention queer. Kissing me on the cheek … is the last thing on earth I'd expect Craig to do. Not to mention out of jealously. I wonder why-
*BANG*
I fall to the floor from the loud noise. My anxiety makes me do that. I wince and cover my ears, sitting up. Good thing I'm not handcuffed behind my back. What the hell was that? I've never heard anything like it before. I get up slowly rubbing my face because I'd landed on it, not to mention on a tiled floor. Wait, did I just…
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I JUST RUBBED THE CHEEK THAT CRAIG KISSED ME ON! AHHHHHHHH!
*BANG*
What the fuck? What is that? I pull myself up and walk through the hall, towards where the bang came from. I turn a corner… and am met with a horrific sight. A kid and a nurse lying on the floor, bleeding heavily. The kid's twitching slightly, so I think he's alive. I drop to my knees and check his pulse. Thank God I paid attention in health class. Sure enough, his heart's beating. Slowly, but beating. I look closely at the kid.
Whoa… it's the same kid that lost his temper at me in the cafeteria almost two months ago. The one that said everyone in South Park knows about me.
"Are you alright?" I ask frantically, thinking I'm about to lose him, judging from the slow beating of his heart. I hear a click behind me, making me twitch.
"Turn around slowly, or you're dead." I do as the person says, and turn around slowly, feeling severely afraid. When I finish turning, I see some guy dressed in black, with a gun. So that's what the noise was. Gunshots.
Oh my God. This is the end for me. I'm done for. This guy has no mercy. He shot a kid like me, so why would he let me live? I close my eyes and wait for a bullet to hit me.
"Open your eyes." I open my eyes and see the guy lowering his gun. Why's he not gonna shoot me?
"Why… aren't you shooting me?"
"…You're Tweek Tweak, aren't you?" I nod hesitantly.
"There's no way I'd ever kill someone as famous as you. Have no worries."
"…What makes me so famous?"
"Everyone in South Park knows about you, you little shit."
"Why do they know about me?"
"Don't joke around. After what you did when you were four, it's a miracle you're not in juvenile hall."
"What did I do that was so bad?" The guy laughs mockingly, making me feel dumb.
"Are you that stupid? Have you forgotten that you murdered your own mother?"