Wednesday, October 19th

8:02 AM

It was a brand new beautiful October day in South Park, and Tweek was not going to enjoy it.

Oddly, this day started off perfectly. Tweek had actual good dreams the previous night instead of the frightening, paranoia-fueled images he usually suffered through. He couldn't really remember them, but he felt great despite the confusing, disconcerting events of the night before. It was abnormal for him to be able to feel anything but dread regarding school, but now he was hopeful and determined to get his answers.

He headed downstairs to breakfast, where his father made sure to give him all of the coffee he would need for the day. After finishing up his sixth cup, he slipped on a warm jacket and, after fumbling with the door for a clumsy moment, stepped out into the outside into the frigid morning air.

Tweek's uncharacteristically jovial mood dipped quite a bit once he arrived at the school, a familiar twinge of anxiety shortening his breath. A crowd of students and a few teachers had stopped to stare at him before exploding into a barrage of small gasps and hushed whispers. Tweek's eyes flickered around the gossipers, his heart pounding in his ears too loud to hear what they were saying. His mind raced with negative possibilities.

Why are they whispering like that..?! They must be talking about me and Craig! The secret's out already? But how?! …Agh, what's going to happen now?! "Keep quiet about it," my ass!

He stopped biting his lip when he noticed a girl named Wendy Testaburger approaching him. She wore an apologetic expression, her dark eyes focused on Tweek's. He mentally prepared himself for their impending conversation.

"Tweek… I'm incredibly sorry to hear about you and Craig. I sincerely offer you my condolences," she started solemnly. "I know how devoted you two were to each other, and all of this must really be taking its toll on you." She sighed sadly. Then her face darkened into a scowl, hands balled into fists. "At least Craig's exposed for the filthy cheater that he is. And Judy- I just can't even believe that total bitch-!" She turned dramatically and crossed her arms with a huff.

…what?! Cheater? Who the hell is Judy? Tweek was caught completely off guard, unable to process this new, gossip-worthy information.

"Wha-hUH?! Who's the-?"

"Honestly, I should have known she was bad news when she moved here last week. The first day she came here, we all thought she was kind of a slut," Wendy continued bitterly. "I mean, the other day she even told me that she'd had seven boyfriends already. Seven! No wonder she knew how to steal yours!" She scoffed and stared angrily at the snow-covered ground.

"I-uh-"

"And look at how she dresses in this freezing weather! I'd cheat on my boyfriend before wearing a strapless top in the middle of winter," she ranted. "I'm so sorry Tweek. All of us girls didn't know how bad she was." The bit her lower lip.

"The-gAH-"

She had more to say. "Anyway, I just thought you needed a little sympathy. I've been through plenty of messy breakups myself." Wendy looked off in reflection, eyes softening a bit before shaking her head in disbelief.

"We-aaaAAA-!"

"I never would have thought you two, of all the couples here, would be the first to-"

"Craig cheated on me?!" Tweek blurted. Wendy's eyes widened and she spun around sharply, her long braid threatening to hit her in the face. Her jaw fell open in shock.

"You mean you didn't know?!"

"No!" Tweek shouted, exasperated.

Wendy's eyebrows lifted in sudden realization. "…Oh." She placed a gloved hand over her mouth and pointed behind the twitchy blonde. "They're…over there." Tweek turned towards the school doors and saw a positively bewildering sight.

Standing in plain sight was a lovely young couple- a tall, dark-haired boy with vibrant blue eyes and, to Tweek's alarm, a tiny, short-haired blonde girl wearing an awfully revealing blouse. The very same mysterious girl who'd laughed at him yesterday was in the arms of his boyf-best friend! And right after Craig dumpe-ended the fake relationship with him two days ago! Tweek didn't need to falsify much of his outrage. He felt like he'd been lied to by who he felt to be his closest friend.

And all the pieces came together. Craig's sudden decision to break up, his comment about wanting to get in "real relationships," his unwillingness to be around Tweek, his ignorance of his frantic texts… it was all because he did have his heart set on someone else!

She's not even that cute! Tweek thought, maturely. Why was this random stupid slut worth sacrificing all we had?! Six years of our friendship… just thrown away! He won't want to ever be with me because she thinks we're ex's! Oh, what a great excuse! Craig… he really did cheat on me!

Tweek realized he was fuming. His eyes were narrowed in building anger and his hands were shakier than normal. Gritting his teeth, he marched towards the tall boy and tiny girl in a loving embrace. Craig had this irritating, almost proud little grin on his dumb face. How dare he! Tweek seethed. How dare he be so dishonest with me and then turn around and be happy about it?! The blonde, or rather, Judy, wore such an elated expression Tweek wished he could wipe that giddy smile off her pretty face. And, Tweek mused, that's just what I'm going to do. He slowed down his gait as he approached the two further.

..Right now. He took a few more apprehensive steps. A nervous tension found its way into his lungs.

Riight…Nggh, oh, what's the point?! What could I possibly say to them?!

He suddenly became conscious of the crowd of students hanging on to his every word, watching his every move. He stopped walking.

Ahh, I can't confront them now! I can't do this!

Just as Tweek takes his first hesitant step on pavement, the tall boy in blue turned towards him. Tweek quailed a bit under Craig's intense gaze. Craig seemed only mildly surprised by Tweek's presence in contrast to Judy, who immediately stepped back from Craig and stared at Tweek with her hands clasped in front of her face. The crowd made an obnoxious "oooooh!" noise, like the real drama had begun.

Craig spoke first. "..Tweek." His tone was unreadable.

"C-Craig." He managed to get the word out evenly, trying to hide any hint of hurt in his voice.

Craig nodded at him and pulled Judy closer and continued to fix Tweek with his stare unblinkingly. She smiled and waved awkwardly. The little gesture made Tweek feel like Craig didn't even consider how the two of them made him feel. Not just lied to and manipulated, but… something else. Tweek tried to push aside the unspoken, unthought-of j-word and looked and Craig with a face that just said "Why? Why did you shake me off for her?"

And that was the question that stuck with him all day. As the dreaded bell signaled the start of classes, the groaning students filling the hallways, Tweek could still see Craig being led away by Judy, leaving Tweek alone with his thoughts.