Summary So Far

Craig and Tweek's relationship is progressing ever since Craig admitted his evolving feelings. Unexpectedly, Kyle and Stan also fell for Tweek soon after, causing drama and misunderstandings. Craig and his friends made plans to counteract this. Tweek is suddenly attacked by a mysterious person.

Chapter 8: Till Death Do Us Part I

"Tell me what you have done to them," the deep voice demanded in a terrifyingly calm tone. Tweek became limp when he realised he couldn't escape; despite the attacker's lean frame, he was deceptively strong. The trembling boy's vision blurred at the realisation of his own helplessness; he was going to be killed. "I will remove my hand if you agree to answer my questions and not scream. Nod if you understand." Tweek moved his head rapidly and tried to verbalise his agreement, but the words came out all muffled.

The blond-haired boy tensed up as the assailant moved his rubber gloved hand. "D-done to who?" Tweek blurted out almost immediately. "I-I swear I don't know what you are talking about man! Oh god! P-please let me go!" At those words, the frightened boy felt his captor loosen his grip.

"Kyle Broflovski and Stan Marsh," stated the mysterious figure, now sounding less than certain. "I know you have done something to them." Tweek was surprised that his attacker knew his two classmates.

"I-I did nothing to them! Gah! They were the ones who suddenly started acting weird!" It must be someone they know, Tweek realised. He was still pinned to the wall, so he couldn't turn around to confirm his suspicions. Craning his neck, he could only catch a glimpse of what looked like the ends of a large dark purple cape, flowing to one side in the wind. "W-who even are you?" he asked in a shaken voice.

At that question, Tweek's assailant froze for what seemed like a long time. Finally, he felt the cold air of freedom as the attacker gradually shifted his weight. The blond boy heard barely audible footsteps, which stopped a few paces away from him. Tweek turned around slowly, in hopes to not trigger another attack, and immediately took in the strange lavender shirt which hung on the tight build of the shadowy individual. A prominent green letter 'M' adorned his chest, and an equally puzzling green question mark was crowned on top of a dark purple cloak wrapped deftly around his head.

The unusually attired boy was relaxed, leaning on the wall at the other side of the alleyway with his arms crossed. He was looking away to the side, as if focused on something far in the distance. "I keep watch over the city at night. I work to rid these streets of crime. I am… Mysterion." The deep voiced figure turned to make eye contact with the other boy, taking note of his increasingly widening blue-green eyes. "As darkness and violence – "

"Stop it Kenny! I know it's you! Y-you scared the hell out of me!" Tweek now looked at his classmate with a frown. "You know that really hurt man, slamming me face first like that!"

"Sorry, I had to test you just in case you were the actual perpetrator." Kenny smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with a green gloved hand.

"Why would I even want this to happen?!" Tweek snapped back angrily. He was frustrated that it wasn't only Craig who thought he purposely invited the actions of other people.

The costume wearing boy paused for a minute, looking at the other boy with careful consideration. "Sometimes people are brought up in broken homes. There are those who stand up for justice because of their childhood adversity, and then there are those who fall prey to it; both these potentials stem from the same place, from the need to be loved." Kenny's serious face morphed into a smirk at his next statement. "... this is especially the case for blond boys who act all innocent. Well, I actually have a more likely suspect in mind."

"Does that mean you don't think I did it?" asked Tweek, confused at how that strange monologue even applied to him, other than the blond boy part. Wait, wasn't Kenny also blond?

"I already know you are actually a very skilled actor; your boyfriend is surprisingly quite talkative when the topic is about you," added the masked boy with a grin. The shaking boy hoped that the darkness would hide his embarrassment. "But I'll believe you for now."

"F-fine! Who is the other suspect then?" Tweek was genuinely curious, not yet completely believing that everything that has happened to him was part of some kind of greater plot.

Kenny inspected the other boy cautiously, as if contemplating whether it was beneficial to divulge that information. "Eric Cartman," he finally admitted.

"Cartman!?" Tweek replied in shock. "But wait a moment, how could he even do that!? Nngh! You know Kyle and Stan could just be temporarily insane or something!"

"At the same time? Not like this, I've known those two nearly my whole life. Cartman has both the motive and opportunity, though I admit I do not know the means. It could be blackmail, or… Tweek, it is possible that there are supernatural forces at play here." Kenny lowered his voice, which caused the messy haired boy to shudder in fright at the unknown possibilities. "That is why I need your help."

"If you suspect me then why even ask for my help!?" Tweek asked bitterly.

"You are not completely unrelated to this; don't you want them off your back? I want my best friends back. We have a mutual understanding and common goal here." Plus, Kenny thought, on the off chance you are behind all this you might slip up, so either way this benefits me. "Do I have your support or not?"

"Argh! Fine! What do you want me to do?"

"I will find you at school with the full plan, but in short we are going to confront Cartman." Kenny stated in a deadly serious tone.

"Oh Jesus!" Honestly, Tweek would rather just avoid any confrontation. "If-if you think that would put everything back to normal, then I'll do it."

"You must not tell anyone what we are planning, not even Craig." The taller boy suddenly moved towards the shivering boy in large strides. Tweek stepped back involuntarily, accidently hitting the back of his head on the wall. Kenny's gloved hands landed on the wall on both sides of the trembling boy, blocking any potential escape path. His bright blue eyes scanned the frightened boy's face carefully. "… Tweek, I'm sorry but I have to ask. Have you considered whether Kyle was really the first victim?"

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Tweek blurted out with a stutter, perplexed at why the other boy needed to be so close. His brow pinched together in confusion. "Kyle was the first one who started acting weirdly towards me all of a sudden, wasn't he?"

Kenny paused, it would be cruel to not open the other's eyes to the possibility. "Has Craig also acted weirdly towards you recently?" he asked carefully, echoing the twitching boy's own terminology in the hope he would understand the implications.

Tweek's eyes slowly widened as his mind processed what was just said. Suddenly he felt as if he was punched, except it hurt much more than anything physical. He shook his head back and forth rapidly. "N-no! It's not true what you are saying!" That was a lie, Craig did admit to liking him just before Kyle changed. Was it all just fake? Tweek shook his head again. "Stop!" He couldn't prevent his brain from thinking, as doubt seeped through the cracks. He felt warm tears trail down his cheeks. "You-you're wrong!"

Kenny looked with sympathy at the quivering boy, who had his head down with tears falling from his tightly shut eyes. Either Tweek is the best actor in the world, or more likely he is just another victim. "Of course, you guys have been boyfriends for a while so this situation is probably unrelated. Just for now, be careful of who you trust, even if it is Craig." Somehow, he felt the need to protect this boy. Perhaps his desire to help Tweek didn't stem entirely from him wanting his best friends back. "I promise you, I will help you to uncover the truth."

That is right, the situation with Craig is different from Kyle and Stan, Tweek thought. There is no need to jump to any conclusions. Now he felt stupid crying in front of his classmate like this. The messy haired blond boy rubbed his face on the long sleeves of his green shirt. "O-ok thanks… Kenny?" Tweek looked around in bewilderment after he opened his eyes, Mysterion had disappeared.

"Crraaaiiigggg!" Clyde was howling again like a kicked puppy. Other students around them were staring at the odd pair as they walked through the school building. This happened infrequently now days, but enough times to be annoying. "Oh god Craig! I'm sooo sorry! I-I couldn't help it…"

"Yup." Craig replied in a monotone voice, intent on ignoring the brown-haired boy. The things that made Clyde upset usually resolved themselves without requiring any intervention on his part. He found it was best not to encourage his friend's drama.

"Listen!" Clyde tugged on the sleeves of his friend's blue jumper. Big dollops of tears were running down his face. "This-this time it's different! Oh my god Crraaiiggg! I couldn't…"

"Everything will be fine." Craig immediately interrupted, wishing this latest episode would be over soon. He had other things to think about, like Tweek and everything that happened last night.

"Noooo!" Clyde continued to wail. "Just-just listen to me! I messed up! Y-you don't, you don't understand – "

Craig was still embarrassed with the whole situation last night, Tweek was clearly too good for him. His boyfriend understood him, his weaknesses, flaws and all; yet he still chose to stay by his side. Craig didn't need to put up his shields and be that stoic statue everyone wants. He could fully be himself around Tweek, without any judgement or expectation.

" – and then I-I felt iitttt!" Clyde continued unabated. "I felt some-something strange inside, for hi-hhiiiimmmm! Oh god I'm soooo…"

"Wait, for him?" Craig asked, suddenly turned towards his friend, with a single brow arched up in surprise on an otherwise blank face. "Who are you talking about exactly?"

"Twweeeeekkk! I'm sooo sorry! I couldn't help it for some reason!" Clyde cried into his raven-haired friend's blue sleeve, damping it with all his teary fluids. Craig would have recoiled in disgust if he wasn't so shocked. He tried to find any sign that this was just a joke, before realising his friend was being completely serious. "Please don't hate me I-I couldn't stand next to him any longer so I ran away to find yyooouuu!"

"Where is my boyfriend right now?" Craig asked immediately, reaching down his pocket to fish out his phone.

"I-I'm not sure," Clyde stated, finally calming down a bit. "I left him with Token I…"

"Ahhh! Oh my god! They're going to get me!" Both boys turned towards the familiar yelling. In the distance they saw Token quickly leading Tweek away by hand. They watched as their friend suddenly turned onto a corner junction, opened a nearby broom closet and shoved the blond boy into it, before entering himself and closing the door quietly.

Clyde was about to say something before Craig quickly shushed him. Kyle and Stan appeared, looking all flustered, they both turned the corner without bothering with the closet. Craig sighed in relief; luckily Token is a smart and reliable friend. "Um, Craig." Clyde piped up, looking confused at his stoic friend. "Shouldn't you be a bit more worried that they were holding hands?"

Craig blinked with a blank face, as the gears turned in his brain. Without another word, he turned around and dashed towards the broom closet. As he made to grab the handle, the door suddenly swung open violently, hitting him face first. "Jesus Christ!" Tweek yelled, as he ran out. "They're all going to get me! Ahhh!" He was sprinting away so quickly Craig didn't have enough time to stop him.

Token strolled out awkwardly, before freezing when he finally noticed Craig sitting on the floor, clutching his nose in pain. At the very least, Token didn't bother hiding the guilty look on his face. Clyde finally caught up, and offerred a hand to friend. "Tell me what the hell is going on with the both of you?" Craig asked in a tone reminiscent of a restrained growl.

Sorry about the delay, I remain unsatisfied with the second half of this chapter (the Clyde and Token section). I still don't think it's up to my standards haha.

I wonder how many of my lovely readers thought, like Mysterion, about the possibility of Craig being the first victim in all this? However, whether it is true is another question entirely!

A new chapter every weekend!

- A. Valentine