Chapter Text
I dropped the knife from my shaking hands. Blood coated my arms and stained my shirt. Tears were spilling from my eyes with my mind blank yet racing with guilt. It was like a static flow of thoughts that jumbled into each other. I grabbed my phone before throwing on a jacket and shoes. I bolted out the door as police sirens sounded in the far distance. I yipped out a panicked squeal as I ran. Two blocks away I fell on the ice, bruising my forearm before picking myself up and running again. My lungs burned from over exhaustion and panic. I stopped at the river and washed my arms in the cold water before drying them on a stray cat and throwing my jacket back on. I zipped it up, hiding my shirt, and ran to the nearest bus stop. I sat at a bench and hugged my knees. I took a deep breath the way Craig had taught me, one quick inhale through my mouth and one long exhale out. I did that a few times until my chest stopped hurting. I was completely alone. I hid my face into my brown jacket which muffled my screaming tears. After 20 minutes an unusual wave of calm fell on me, I felt tired and delirious. I was free from now. It was all finally over. I pulled out my phone and opened my texts. I found Craig and scrolled up at our past conversations. My chest felt heavy and my throat got uncomfortably tight. Craig was probably asleep right now in bed peacefully with Stripe buried underneath the bedding in slumber. I'd give anything to be in that warm bed where time stood still and everything was okay. I looked up at the sky. The horizon tinted red over the trees. The sound of cars passing through to their early commute and the sound of the river down the road. I shivered and looked back down at my phone. I tapped to send a message. My eyes quickly blurred with tears. I hiccuped as my head jolted with a small string of tics. I tried my best to type out his message:
Umx sleuth I'm so srtuury gi juxtaposition oc
I'm sogc do sorry
I hacvt to leave
I'm eiryu
I'm sorry Craig
ILu
I pocketed my phone and cried myself to sleep on the bench. He didn't deserve me. There was blood on my hands. He couldn't love a murderer like me. I couldn't bring Craig into this mess. He was a sweet guy. He's better off without me. I woke up 20 minutes later hopping on the bus. My body ached dully and the lights hurt my eyes. I sat near the back alone and tried to sleep but it was hard. Eventually I fell back asleep.
[Craig POV]
I opened my eyes and stretched my arms and legs out under the covers. I could hear Stripe squeaking at me to get out of the warm bed. I slipped out and picked up Stripe, setting him up against my shoulder before I went to eat breakfast. I checked my phone at the table to my father's annoyance and noted the usual string of texts from my darling Tweek. I opened the messages and stopped eating to re-read the messages.
Umx sleuth I'm so srtuury gi juxtaposition oc
I'm sogc do sorry I hacvt to leave
I'm eiryu
I'm sorry Craig
ILu
He was sorry about something and left. That was all I could manage to decipher.
Honey where are you?
What happened?
I sent the text and wondered where in South Park he could be? It wasn't unusual for him to skip school but the brevity and significant lack of detail was worrying. He usually sent at least 20 texts about whatever was bothering him. There were usually paragraphs of text explaining his problems but there was nothing. I had no idea what happened. Why didn't Tweek tell me? Didn't he trust me? I took a deep breath and assured myself that I would find out once I got to school, if he was there. Maybe. In the bus I glanced at my phone, nothing, no new messages from Tweek. I tried to listen to whatever Clyde was talking about but I couldn't stop wondering what happened with Tweak. I just nodded quietly every once in a while, trying to feign attention. I glanced out the window catching a glimpse of Coffee Bros. There was a crowd of people around it but the store was empty. The sign read closed. It was peculiar for a Monday morning for the place to be closed. Did his parents take him somewhere?
"Craig? Craig, are you listening?"
"Coffee Bro's isn't open." I said, turning my body around in my seat to look at the coffee shop down the street as the bus drove past it. "It's always open on Mondays."
"Why don't you ask Tweek about it?"
"He hasn't responded to any of the text messages I sent him half an hour ago. It's weird, he told me he was sorry about something but I don't know what. I tried to ask him about it but I just got nothing."
"Maybe his parents took his phone away or something. I dunno. I heard they're secretly freaks who poisoned the coffee with drugs."
"Kyle's mom said that. You're really gonna trust Kyle's mom? She just said that because she thinks espresso is a gateway to alcoholism."
"If you say so." Clyde shrugged. Craig looked at the old texts again. I tried to check his Twitter but his account was deleted, in fact all his socials were deleted. He tried to call him. No answer. Why was he doing this? At school I ran to Tweeks locker. He wasn't there. I called him again. Nothing. I pocketed my phone and kicked the locker like it would make things better. I quietly went to class. In 3rd period a teacher scolded me for putting my head on my desk. Then I was lectured for not participating in the class discussion. I was taking my stupid notes, I don't have anything to say. What does he want from me? While I was walking to 4th period I tried calling Tweak again. And again. And again. No answer. I tried not to take it personally but it hurt. I just hoped he was okay. With a shaky hand I put my phone back into my backpack.
At lunch I walked towards my table and passed by Cartman's table.
"Did you hear the police down the street last night?" Stan said.
"Yeah I heard screaming and stuff. It was weird, I could barely sleep," said Kyle.
"Well I think-"
I sat at my table next to Token and rested my chin on my hand, staring down at my food. "Still no sign of Tweek?" Asked Jimmy.
"No," I mumbled, "but it's fine, I'll see him eventually. I just wish I knew what was happening and why he isn't talking to me. I thought we had built up a strong trust in each other, I don't get it."
Clyde ran to our table, "Did you hear?! The police were at Tweek's house last night!"
"Who told you that?" I asked.
"I heard Kyle talking about it." He slid in his chair next to Jimmy. "Now there's police tape around everything. I heard that someone got killed."
My mouth went dry. I looked down at my food and tried to keep eating the sloppy joe but I just couldn't stomach it now. I stood up and walked back to Cartman's table.
"Okay, what kind of prank did you assholes pull on Tweek?" I crossed my arms and stared at Cartman.
"I didn't do anything! I don't care about your freaky boyfriend!"
"He's not a freak." I squinted my eyes.
"Whatever."
"Wait, you don't know where Tweak is?" Stan asked wide eyed.
"No. . I don't know anything. He won't talk to me."
"Yeah well, maybe he offed himself," Cartman spouted out before taking a huge bite of his sandwich.
I winced at his words and stared at him with big eyes. Could they tell I was shaking? Was I going to throw up?
"What the fuck Cartman! That's a shitty thing to say!" Kyle shouted.
"Well it's possible."
I stood frozen to that spot and looked down at nothing in particular.
"That kid is fucked up in the head and his parents are creepy. It's not hard to believe he-"
"Stop it." Kyle chided.
"He found his dad's gun and blew his brai-"
"SHUT UP FATASS!!" Kyle shouted over him as he finished the sentence. I sulked away from the table slowly. Kyle looked over his shoulder at me with big eyes for a moment before glaring back at Cartman and giving him a sharp smack on the shoulder. The other two boys leaned around to look at me too.
"Are you okay Craig?" Tolkien asked. I rested my head on the table quietly. For the rest of lunch I sat like that and listened to Token and Clyde talk about video games. I checked my phone again to nothing again. I sipped my chocolate milk and glanced over at Cartman. He was staring at me. I flipped him off before resting my head down. The intercom cackled on:
"Attention students. I am sorry to tell you that our student Tweek uh. . .Tweak?-,Tweek Tweak has been confirmed dead along with his parents this morning. School will be released early to give students time to process this traumatic event. The counselors office is open to any student in need."
I could feel everyone staring at me. I heard a few students cheer about getting out of school. There were lots of kids running out of the cafeteria.
"Uh, Craig? You ok?" Clyde asked.
"Craig?" Tolkien touched my shoulder.
I shoved him away and felt my back tense at the touch. I stood up quietly and walked out of school ignoring everyone. On the bus I sat alone with my backpack shielding from anyone sitting with me. After 15 long minutes I ran out of the bus and bolted down the street to Tweaks house. My stomach flipped when I saw the police cars around the house. Police tape was everywhere. The house smelled awful. I almost threw up from the smell. I sat down in the grass and hugged my legs. No way. There was no way it could be true. How did this happen? I tensed my muscles in frustration and squeezed my eyes shut. The world felt too loud and bright. My heart was pounding. Panicked tears tipped my eyes. It hurt to breathe. 5 minutes passed before I heard someone walk behind me.
"Craig." I heard my Dad walk behind me. He stood next to me. "Hey, let's go home okay?"
His voice was calm. He reached out his hand. After a minute I uncurled myself and stood up, ignoring his hand. I hugged onto his side and buried my face against him. He didn't say anything, he just put a gentle hand against my head. I finally let go and walked home next to him. I went up to my room, curled up into bed and hugged my pillow feeling nothing at all.
[Tweek POV]
When I woke up I was miles away from South Park. The bus was empty. I ran out of there before the driver could ask me questions. The reality of my situation caught up with me as the cold air hit my face. My neck was hurting from the tics and jitters I had. I bumped into someone and yelped before running away. They called after me but I was faster. I ran until I found myself inside a furniture store. I kept low and sat on the floor against a couch. My stomach was aching for food. I was so tired and my body felt sore from running.
"Breaking News!"
A nervous yip escaped me as I looked at one of the TVs.
"A family in South Park was found brutally murdered this morning by police."
A photograph of me and my family appeared on screen.
"The Tweaks, who were a once small family who worked the towns local coffee shop Coffee Bros were found dead. The police have yet to find the culprit. The schools are closed to mourn the loss of it's beloved student Tweek Tweak."
My jaw dropped as the news moved on to another story. They think I'm dead?
"Hey!"
A man looked at me. I ran away from him and didn't look back. I spent most of the day running around the strange town. I managed to find a water fountain and a public bathroom to wash up at. I went to a single use one and locked the door. The warm water and pink fuzzy soap felt nice after that long night. I stared at my reflection and saw how terrible I looked. The look on my mother's face when she found me with the bloody knife flashed into memory. I ran into the toilet and threw up the small amount of food I had. It was mostly bile and spit. I coughed as tears ran down my face. My heart raced as I clung to the toilet. As soon as the panic had just started it ended just as quickly. I flushed the toilet and laid on the ground. I needed to keep moving.
When I gathered up the strength to get up I found a marketplace and walked inside. I grabbed two peaches and peeled off the little sticker on them. It was pretty empty. Probably because it was a late Monday morning. If the employees saw me stealing the peaches they didn't care enough to say anything. I walked until I came to a park. I sat down in the grass next to a river and ate my peach. It was ripe enough to be edible. I worried about where I would get my next meal. I wasn't the best at stealing. Kids like Cartman would stuff their pockets with snacks from the lunch line. I was never able to do that sort of thing. I wouldn't be able to hide my nerves. Way too much pressure. I was so sure I was caught at the store but no one stopped had stopped me. I knew my luck would run out eventually. I needed a reliable place to get food. Stealing was too unpredictable and I had too little experience to do it right. I stared down the river and thought about home. As far as they where concerned I was dead. I couldn't explain the delirious peace I felt about it. I wondered what my funeral would look like? Would there be flowers? I grimaced at the image of a coffee cup next to my memorial picture. Was that all I'd be remembered as? The coffee shop kid who was a dumb spazz? I sighed.
I saw woman with a guitar set up a blanket and started to strum at it.
"If I die young burry me in satin
Lay me down in a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song."
Her voice was deep and husky. I admired her. I could never perform in public like that. I've played my small plug in piano in my room before but hated to perform in front of people. As she sang my mind wondered to Craig. The song made me feel sad about my poor boyfriend. He was probably heartbroken. I cried quietly as I ate. I could hear a train run through in the distance. The woman's words met my ears like a hug.
"And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom
I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger
I've never known lovin' of a man but it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand
There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever
Who would've thought forever would be severed by the sharp knife of a short life."
I finished my peaches and found my way to the train tracks. I walked down the tracks for hours until it led me to a town smaller than the last one I was in. It had gotten dark when I got there. It was one of those touristy towns with cute little shops and restaurants. When I found a half eaten sandwich outside an eatery, I took it before the custodians could. I sat under a tree and nibbled at it. It was a simple ham and cheese sandwich with swiss and cheddar. My legs were aching from all that walking. I washed himself in another public restroom before stopping at a little church. The doors weren't locked, they didn't even have a key hole. I walked in and looked at the small basin of holy water. I sighed and made myself comfortable in a bench near the holy water. I slept as much as he could while keeping myself alert. Catnapping was the phrase, I think. It was the first of the many long nights I would face for the next few days.