Tweek was waiting at their meeting spot as if it were a normal school day. And Craig supposed it was, for everyone else. For them, it was the day that they would finally confront the Asians and destroy the curse that lingered over them. Craig wondered what would change once it was reversed. Could Tweek still be his best friend? Could they still play videogames together and talk about how great Stripe was? Would they still hold hands on the way to school and pretend they were gay for money, or would all of that be over? Craig was a little sad that he might lose Tweek completely. He had never been this close to anyone before, and it was liberating and terrifying at the same time. He didn't even know you could care about friends this much. Maybe things could remain the same, but they would only like girls. They could talk about girls instead of making out by Stark's Pond.
"Hey," he said, and gave Tweek a rare smile. He was always pretty happy to see the blond these days, and he figured he should enjoy that feeling, just in case it went away after the Asians fixed them.
"H-hey yourself, Craig," Tweek said returning his smile and holding out his hand.
"Are you ready to do this?" Craig asked, keeping his apprehension carefully out of his voice. Tweek's face fell a little bit, and some of his facial muscles were twitching. Craig supposed that he must be pretty nervous. The shorter boy didn't like confrontation, and the group of Asian girls in their grade were intimidating to most of the boys who weren't as anxious as Tweek.
"Hey, it'll be alright, man. It'll all be over soon. We just have to talk to the Asians and then things can go back to the way they were," Craig said, hoping to comfort his friend. But for some reason, Tweek looked even more miserable than before. He did give Craig a small nod, though. Or maybe it was just a twitch. Craig sighed, and took his shaking hand in his own. Maybe that would calm him down. They began their long trek to the high school. Tweek was staring around nervously. He had been so jumpy the last few days. Craig hoped that he would calm down again once they could just be friends. He squeezed Tweek's hand gently. There was no way the Asians could make him forget that he friend-loved Tweek, could they? He didn't want to abandon Tweek when he knew he was one of the reasons the boy had been so much calmer lately, even when he drank ten cups of coffee a day. Craig was pretty proud of his part in Tweek's transformation. He couldn't bear the thought of his efforts going to waste.
They travelled down the bustling streets of South Park's neighborhoods. There were a lot of Hillary/Kaine signs in the lawns, and a few Garrison/Jenner signs that had been torn and graffitied. South Park was trying pretty hard to distance itself from the presidential candidate it had birthed, and Craig snorted to himself. They were all hypocrites. So many of them had supported Garrison before the latest scandals. Even with his past. But now that WOMEN were affected by the shit he was spouting, oh, that was too far. Girls hating us guys again, even on a national level. And Garrison is not helping with that. Fuck that guy. Maybe someday I'll want to marry Tweek! He'd try to stop that. Wait. Other gay guys. I mean. Gay guys. That want to get married. Should be able to. Not me. Fucking asians. Craig scowled at the lack of control of his thoughts, and pulled Tweek along. His hand seemed to be the only thing keeping Tweek on his feet as they rambled on towards the school. The other boy was shaking violently, now, to the point where he could barely walk. Craig saw the school pop up in front of them, and pulled Tweek to the side of the entrance.
"What's wrong, Tweek?" he asked.
"I-I just don't want the Asians to change me, man! AH! What-WHAT IF THEY MAKE US HATE EACH OTHER? I CAN'T DEAL WITH THE PRESSURE-AH!, CRAIG, I DON'T WANT-AH! TO HATE YOU." His voice was trembling, and he almost seemed to be on the verge of tears. Craig pulled him into a tight embrace. A friendly embrace, he thought, as he felt Tweek's slim body enclosed by his own more muscular one. Tweek smelled so enticing. Craig had grown to love the smell of coffee, mixed with the smell of peppermint, and something sweeter. He buried his face in Tweek's hair on instinct and inhaled the smell of him. His hands moved lower, gripping Tweek's ass firmly. A friendly ass-grab. Stop it, he told himself. He shook the smell of Tweek away from his nose and stepped back from the blond.
"Er- I won't hate you, Tweek. We can just be friends again. We can still hang out. You still have to learn how to hold Stripe," he explained. Tweek had calmed down a little. Or at least he had stopped trembling as much; he was looking rather flustered for a different reason.
Craig had the urge to kiss him again, and figured it couldn't do any harm. They would go meet the Asians in just a few minutes now, so they might as well not struggle against the curse while it was still upon them. He grabbed Tweek by his small behind and pulled him close, kissing him. He wasn't sure if he would be able to stop. Tweek's lips were so soft, and his hands burned as they touched him. He wanted more. He needed more. Greedily, he pulled Tweek into him, hearing a shocked squeak as he did. His hands roamed up to Tweek's hair and he pulled it slightly to get a better grip on the other boy. Tweek let out a surprised moan, and Craig stopped, stunned out of the spell he seemed to fall into every time he touched Tweek these days. He had never heard Tweek make that noise before, and he felt something hard up against his leg. He could barely control his own arousal, and knew that they had to get to the Asians as soon as they could.
He pulled away from Tweek, but grabbed his hand and led him towards the back of the school where he knew their quarry liked to hang out. A bunch of the new Asian students were sitting in a circle, chatting as they drew in sketchpads. Probably more Yaoi art that would curse others to be gay. Craig recognized Kelly and Lisa among the girls.
"Kelly! Lisa! Come over here," Craig called out calmly. The two broke off from the group, and walked over to Tweek and Craig smiling.
"Hello, boys," Kelly said, "I'm so glad you're still enjoying each others' company. You're an inspiration to all of us."
"Right. We need you to make us not gay," Craig said with no preamble. The two girls looked at each other.
"What?" they asked in unison.
"You heard me. We need you to make us not gay. You drew pictures of us together and cast an Asian curse that made us gay. We need you to undo it." Beside him, Tweek was trembling and twitching again. They needed to get this over with fast.
"I can't just MAKE someone not gay, Craig. You were born how you are. I can't change that," Lisa explained patronisingly.
"This right here is why no one likes you," Craig stated, trying not to let too much of his anger out. He was a stoic afterall. "You go around making guys gay, and turning the girls and the guys against each other, and casting your stupid Asian curses all over the school. This is why no one ever wants to hang out with you."
Kelly and Lisa stared at him, then each other. Their eyes were narrowed.
"Excuse us for a moment please," Kelly said, pulling Lisa back a few feet. The girls whispered behind their hands, stealing glances at the boys. Kelly said something that made Lisa angry, and they two started raising their voices, arguing rapidly in one of the Asian languages.
Finally, Lisa glared and said, "Fine!" The two headed back towards the boys.
"We have agreed to tell you a long-kept secret because we have grown to like you while drawing you," Kelly began, with a triumphant smirk. Lisa glowered beside her. "We don't decide who to draw. Our orders come down from someone else. We are at the bottom of the chain of command. If there is a curse, as you say, we don't know about it. We just draw who the Leader says to draw."
"AH-Who's the leader, Man?" Tweek asked, his eyes darting around them, looking for the mysterious Leader in the trees.
"We aren't sure. But we know that he leaves messages for us in the Tower of Peace, by the City Wok," Kelly lowered her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "My mother says that this is how it has always been. We have always drawn who the Leader says to draw, and asked no questions. Head to the Tower of Peace. You may find the answers you seek with the Mongolians who guard the tower."
Craig sighed. He always seemed to get sucked into quests that he had no interest in. He just wanted a simple end to the Asian curse. Frowning mildly, he led Tweek into the school for class as the bell rang. They would have to go to the Tower after school.