Craig was very tempted to chuck his alarm clock out of his window as soon as it started wailing after striking 7:30am, the usual time he was supposed to roll out of bed and get ready for school. As he groggily hopped out of bed and to his closet for clothes, memories of last night started flooding back to him and he could tell that today was going to be another bad day.
Yesterday was more eventful than any other day had been in awhile and not in a good way. First off, he had pissed off one of the biggest bullies in South Park by preventing him from beating up Tweek. Secondly, he had broken out of his reputation of not caring about anyone by helping Tweek (which was sure to raise questions out of people today). Third, he had regrettably went off on Clyde. And to top it all off, his ex-friend had called him and now he was supposed to decide between meeting up with him to talk about "the Kenny incident" (as Craig called it) or to completely avoid him as much as possible. This day was doomed from the start.
After carelessly throwing on a new pair of clothes, his regular jacket, and hat, he trudged out of his bedroom door and began making his way downstairs. He heard dishes lightly clanking together from somewhere in the kitchen and as he entered, he found his father sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of black coffee and a newspaper in his hand, while his mother was pouring herself a bowl of cereal.
"Good morning, Craig," his mom greeted automatically, without looking up at him.
"Morning," he muttered back, making a b-line for the refrigerator, where he retrieved an apple from.
"You were gone pretty late last night," she reminded him. "Where were you?"
"Out," Craig stated, his voice monotone.
"Craig," Mrs. Tucker rebuked, "I'm serious. I need to know where you are."
"Listen to your mom, Craig," added Mr. Tucker almost robotically, without looking up from his newspaper.
"Why? You never do," he mumbled, taking a bite out of the apple in his hand and coldly walking past them in the direction of the front door. He grabbed his school bag and slinged it over his shoulder carelessly.
"Craig!" his mother called after him, but he was already out the door.
The Tuesday morning sun blinded him, making him squint slightly as he began the tedious walk to the high school. The air chilled him, but not as much as it had the last time he had been outside, surrounded by the 2am darkness. His thoughts wandered to Stripe and he hoped that the kind dog was still in the alleyway. Maybe he'd stop there quickly before school started.
As if on cue, the yellow school bus lumbered noisily past him, the brakes suddenly screeching to a halt at the stop sign in front of him. He could faintly make out a few distinct faces through the grimy windows of the bus; one of which included Kenny, who seemed to be laughing at something with Stan, Kyle, and Cartman.
Something flickered inside of Craig, like a flame of anger. A part of him was surprised that Kenny was still regularly hanging out him them, but the majority of him was not.
They're all dicks, anyways, he thought; his mind spitting out these thoughts like they were venom. No wonder they're all still friends. They deserve each other.
As he watched the bus continue on its way to the high school, Craig felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. After pulling it out, he realized he had a new text message.
Clyde: sorry dude I just got your voicemail now. whats wrong?
Remembrance of the anxiety-driven voicemail he had left Clyde after talking to Kenny filled his head. A small, relieved smile flashed across Craig's face as he scanned the message. One thing that he loved about Clyde was his continuous, unwavering loyalty to Craig. He knew very well that he didn't at all deserve it, but it was still appreciated. Even after the awful things he had said the night before, Clyde was still willing to help him.
Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter now. See you in a little bit, he wrote back.
A reply came almost immediately.
Clyde: you sure?
Craig: Yeah. Sorry for bothering you.
Clyde: ok. need a ride to school? Token's giving me one. we can pick you up.
Craig: No. I'm walking.
And after a couple seconds of thought, he added, And I have a stop to make on the way.
***
"Hey, buddy," was the first thing that Craig said as he greeted his new four-legged friend at the alleyway entrance. A grin played on his lips as he watched Stripe vigorously wag his tail. He knelt down, dropping his (not even half-eaten) apple at the dog's feet. "I brought you some breakfast. You must be hungry."
Stripe began to gratefully gobble up the apple and after he was done, he leapt up onto Craig excitedly, making Craig lose his balance and fall backwards onto his ass. This made him laugh and he enveloped the dog into a hug.
"I can't be here that long, Stripe," he sadly admitted. "I have school."
Suddenly, he heard a door shut in the distance and Stripe began to slowly back away in fear at the noise. Craig rose to his feet, surprised at how easily the stray was spooked by noises. After hearing a couple footsteps from behind him, he whirled around just as a familiar voice shrieked, "GAH!"
Craig's eyes shot over towards Tweek Tweak, who was standing a couple feet away from him. He looked to be locking up his family's coffee shop and, considering his startled eyes, he was just as surprised to see Craig as Craig was to see him.
"Cr-Craig?" the blonde asked in disbelief.
Craig's head jerked back towards the alley and Stripe was nowhere in sight. Probably hiding behind the dumpster...
"Um, hey, Tweek," he replied awkwardly.
"You sc-scared me," Tweek sighed, pulling back the key from the doorknob and slipping it into his pocket. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"I take this way to school sometimes." He wasn't sure why his first instinct was always to lie, but that's what he did.
"O-Oh." He seemed to buy it, moving closer to him and Craig then noticed that he had a cup of coffee with him. Of course he did. "I haven't s-seen you a-around here in the m-mornings."
"Yeah, I don't come this way that often," he responded and quickly tried to change the subject. "So, what're you doing here before school?"
"I-I was j-just making sure ev-everything was okay in the shop," Tweek answered, fidgeting with the key in his pocket. "I - er - was just h-heading to school. Is it okay if I w-walk with you?"
"Yeah, of course," Craig assented, giving a small smile of approval. He grasped onto the strap of his bag and anxiously glanced over his shoulder at the alley that was behind him. He could see Stripe timidly peering at him and Tweek from behind a trash can that leaned against Tweek Bros.
They began the walk towards the school, which wasn't too far away. To Craig, it felt odd to walk with someone - especially Tweek, who was constantly jittering, making strange noises every once in awhile, or sipping perturbedly on his coffee.
"Jeez, dude," Craig spoke, breaking the silence that had settled between them. "Have your parents ever told you to lay off the coffee?"
"N-No!" Tweek exclaimed, alarmed, as if Craig had suggested the craziest idea to him. "Why w-would th-they do that?"
"Well, look at you." He gestured towards the boy that was walking by his side. "You're always shaking and twitching and... I mean... no offense, man, but you're always kind of a wreck."
Tweek shrugged, his left eye quivering slightly. "I g-guess that's j-just how I-I am. I've b-been dia-diagnosed with ADD, though."
"ADD, my ass," Craig scoffed. "Your parents probably put meth in your damn coffee."
"Meth?!" Tweek cried. "Oh, Jesus - why would they do that?!"
Craig shook his head, snickering slightly. "God, you're sure something, Tweek."
"Is th-that a g-good or a b-bad thing?" he questioned.
Craig thought for a moment, before answering with, "I'm not sure yet."
It wasn't too long before they reached the school. Craig watched as a swarm of students flooded off the bus and out of cars. Cliques had already began forming together near the front door.
"H-Hey, Craig?" Tweek suddenly asked quietly.
"What?"
"Um, do - do you re-remember what you said y-yesterday at the coff-coffee shop?" he inquired timorously.
"Uh, you'll have to be a little more specific than that," Craig laughed, scanning the area for Clyde and Token.
"W-Well, you said th-that people d-don't want your help because you ex-expect a favor in r-return," Tweek explained. "R-Remember?"
"Yeah," he answered, wondering why that mattered.
"Well, I was thinking th-that - "
"Tucker!" Clyde suddenly appeared, causing Tweek to jump. He was emerging from a crowd of students in front of Tweek and Craig that were huddled near the front doors with Token trailing behind him.
"Hey, dude," Craig greeted.
"Hey, so Token and I were just - " Clyde's voice trailed off abruptly as his eyes settled on Tweek, who was frightfully clutching onto his coffee cup beside Craig. A puzzled expression formed on his face.
Craig cleared his throat, trying to break the awkward tension. "You guys know Tweek Tweak, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Token piped up through Clyde's odd silence. "Hey, Tweek."
"Ngh!" was Tweek's response.
"Why're you hanging out with him?" Clyde skeptically asked, eyebrows knitted together and expression changing to a sudden coldness.
"GAH!" blurted Tweek, his eyes erratically twitching uncontrollably. "I'll - uh - see you around, Cr-Craig."
And with that said, Tweek dashed off, slipping through the crowd of students and into the front doors of the school.
Craig shot a glare at Clyde, whose cold expression was now gone. "You didn't need to be a dick."
He rolled his eyes. "Does it really matter? It was just to Tweek. Why were you talking with him, anyway?"
"Why do you care?" Craig retorted, getting weirdly defensive. "It's not like he was bothering you or anything."
"Look, I just don't want to be seen around you if you're with him," explained Clyde. "After yesterday, I don't want Cartman getting pissed at all of us because you decided to help that crackhead."
"That's stupid," scoffed Craig.
"Guys," Token spoke up, sounding annoyed, "can we not argue? Let's just get going before we're late to class."
Without protesting, Clyde and Craig grudgingly obeyed and trudged into the building after Token. When they entered the Junior year hallway, Tweek was nowhere in sight to Craig's disappointment. He still didn't know why he suddenly cared about that boy, but whatever it was that was making him care about him, it was a strong force that never seemed to leave the back of his mind.
Just like yesterday, the three of them gathered around Craig's locker. All of his thoughts were revolving around Tweek, as he once again pretended to be listening to their conversation, even though he couldn't find the will to care about what they were saying. Maybe he didn't actually care about the boy, but instead, maybe he just cared about the secrets that laid beneath that shaky, anxious exterior of his. Yeah, that had to be it. He didn't care about anyone. He just cared about what he could use against them.
A few minutes later, the bell for first period rang out, causing Token and Clyde to part ways with Craig. He fumbled through his locker, gathered up his things for his first period class, and was on his way.
***
The first thing he noticed when he entered Mrs. Clarke's classroom was that on his deck, a sheet of notebook paper that was crookedly folded sat there, like it was waiting for him. Curiously, Craig gingerly plucked up the paper and carefully unfolded it.
Hey Craig,
Sorry that I ran off earlier. What I was trying to say is that I want to give you something in return for helping me yesterday. I guess I kind of owe you. Meet me outside on the back steps after school.
- Tweek
Eyebrows raised, Craig read the note over and over again. What could Tweek possibly be giving him? He barely knew the guy and on top of that, he thought it was clear that he was giving Tweek a forget-about-it-there's-no-charge pass for his help, something that he hadn't given anyone before.
Craig craned his head in the direction of Tweek's desk. There, sat the blonde, involuntarily shaking as always. He must've felt Craig's eyes on him because he immediately jumped and turned to face him nervously. Craig held up the note and nodded at him, signalling that he understood and would be meeting him after school. This made Tweek shyly smile in response and then he turned his attention back on the teacher.
Craig shoved the note into his jacket pocket, reverting his attention away from Tweek. After school was definitely going to be interesting.
***
Hello, everyone! Sorry that it took me a bit to update. I recently have been recovering from the flu and I've been celebrating my birthday, as it was this weekend. Please vote and comment, so that I know that people are still reading this (kind of shitty) story. I'll try to be updating more frequently, but I can't make any promises, thanks to the constant homework I get.
Thanks for reading