•:☆ Thanatophobia ☆:•

1

"Close the doors or they may come to get you."

His father whispered to him whilst he grinned. He didn't know how much he freaked out his poor son, twitching and jittering was NOT his personality. He was just never able to show it when hiding behind the whispers and smiles.

"Now, make sure the house doesn't go to flames while we're out as well. Maybe call a friend over to supervise you. Me and your mother understand you're incapable of surviving on your own."

Tweek only twitched to these words.

death, Death, DEATH!

He held on to his shirt above his heart, his imagination making him feel a piercing feeling coming through. He shut his eyes tight waiting for it to stop. He was going to die.

His father watched him reach for his phone, presumably texting one of his friends to come over. If no friends meant death, he wasn't taking any chances.

"Good boy Tweek. Now, we'll be back later. We've left a cup of coffee for you on the counter."

Tweek watched his father leave the room, listening to the stairs creak as he walked down them. Tweek let out a breath he had accidentally been holding in.

buzz, Buzz, BUZZ

"GAH, OH JESUS!"

Tweek grabbed his phone, reading the three messages Craig had sent. The buzzing was too fast, Craig couldn't be typing at that speed. Oh God, it's not Craig, is it? They're after him, again. He needs to prepare.

★

Craig looked at his phone as it lit up. He knew it was going to be Tweek, it always was.

tweek♡: plesde come over whne uoj can pleasd

alr ill be there soon
r u okay?
ttm tweek

The raven haired boy paced down the stairs, on his route to Tweek's house, still holding his phone out for an answer. There was none. It wasn't like Tweek to not answer him. He paced a bit faster until he reached the house. He knocked on the door, same rhythm as he normally does to let Tweek know it was him. There was a delay to Tweek opening the door, but eventually the letter box opened. Craig bent down to look through, meeting eyes with Tweek. His pupils had shrunk into a white void, his shaking was clearly visible.

Craig only sighed, knowing there was no way to prevent his thoughts, but he'd try his best. Tweek was his secret crush afterall. He had good days and bad days. Although Tweek's good days were rare, they were the only thing that kept Craig hopeful.

Tweek opened the door and quickly dragged Craig in, slamming the door behind him.

"They're after me again, I d-dont know what to do!"

"It'll be okay Tw-"

Tweek put his hands over Craig's mouth urgently. "CRAIG! WHISPER OR THEY'LL HEAR US!"

Craig moved Tweek's hands, flustered at the contact. Luckily for him, Tweek was oblivious... which was also worrying for Craig in a way. Tweek definitely doesn't like Craig the same way Craig likes him. He's too focused on his thoughts. Tweek started to pull on his hair, Craig could only take Tweek's hands away from him. His hands were sweaty and warm.

Tweek could only feel the cold.

Craig clicked his tongue, thinking to himself. It was either he played along with Tweek and let him believe in his invaders, which was out of the question, or try to convince him otherwise. He huffed, Tweek's hands still in his and he walked over to Tweek's living area.

"Sit down Tweek, we need to talk."

Tweek only continued to shake, but sat down anyways.

"So... I wanted to talk about 'them.' Who is 'them?'"

Tweek's eyes twitched as he looked around, as if to make sure nobody was listening.

"I d-don't know, but I know ngh- they're after me..."

"Why do you believe in them if you've never seen them?"

Tweek shrugged and played with his fingers. The only thing he would whisper back is that 'they're after him,' which didn't make sense. The lack of knowledge Tweek had of 'them,' made Craig think.

"Who told you about them?"

"D-Dad."

He sighed once more before giving Tweek a hug. He shook into the hug and took a sip of his coffee.

"No more coffee, Tweek. You'll make yourself sick."

Craig took it off of him and put it on the coffee table. Tweek reached for his hand, making a groaning sound but gave up.

"Tweek, whoever 'they' is, doesn't exist. Your dad's playing some sick joke."

Craig motioned his thumb in circles in Tweek's palm. It helped him calm down.

"How do, ngh- you know!?"

Craig cleared his throat before speaking again, "Tweek, you don't need to whisper."

Tweek shut his eyes tightly, waiting for them to come. Craig had messed up. They were on their way. They were going to get him. They were going to get him.

"Open your eyes, it's okay."

Tweek jumped back at Craig's voice, the voices in his head dying out in the process. He looked around, waiting. They'd be here by now, he was sure.

"See? They don't exist." Tweek's eyes grabbed onto Craig's, he could stare at Craig's eyes forever. They were an ugly green colour but shawn luminous yellow in the sun.

"You're safe Tweek."

"I...I am..?"

Craig slightly smiled, proud he was able to convince Tweek. It wasn't easy to put good concepts into his head, probably why he usually had a bad mindset.

"You are."

★

They went back upstairs and sat on Tweek's bed for a while, just talking. Since Tweek was 19, and Craig was turning 19 in two weeks, they were talking about college since they weren't accepted in last year.

"If we get in, wanna be roommates?"

"Agh- duh."

Craig smirked as Tweek smiled but both of their attention was stolen by the sound of the front door opening.

"They're here, he lied. HE LIED! We're going to die, we're never going to make it to college. We're never going to make it out of this fucking hellhole."

Craig watched Tweek whisper to himself. He couldn't make out what he was saying, but he knew it wasn't good. Craig crawled over to him and ran his finger in random directions on the back of Tweek's head. Any soft action that made Tweek's skin slightly tickle (specifically his arms, legs and neck), calmed him down. That kind of tactile interaction was the only type that didn't fluster him. He knew and liked that Craig had figured out he liked that interaction without having to tell him.

"What's up?"

Before Tweek could talk to Craig, there was banging on the door.

They were here.