Black Eyes and Broken Dreams

Busted Eardrums

Craig Tucker, the school's stoic, emotionless badass, was on the verge of tears.

He shoved his earbuds in his ears and turned up the volume as loud as he dared. The beat to the song coursed through his body, matching his heartbeat.

Craig stepped outside of his house and braved the cold dusk. The raven haired boy paced his steps to the song. He walked blindly through the small town of South Park, ending up at the edge of town.

He sighed and walked down a dimly lit alleyway between two empty buildings. He slid down a wall and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Are you ok?" A harsh voice echoed off the bare walls. Craig choked on a sob and pulled out his earbuds.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," the voice softened.

"Who are you?" Craig asked after a couple of seconds of silence. The only sound was the wind whispering hollowly in his ears.

"I am an angel keeping watch over the city at night," the voice replied as if it had rehearsed the sentence thousands of times.

Craig scoffed, "Who are you really?"

A cloaked figure jumped down from the roof and landed in front of the watery eyed boy. It landed in a crouching position but stood up.

"I am Mysterion," after a couple of seconds without response, he continued. "What's wrong?"

"Why should I tell you?" Craig looked at Mysterion. He could tell it was a boy around his age because of his body structure. Slightly muscular but very thin. He towered over Craig's sitting figure. Mysterion's cape danced in the frozen wind.

"I'm here to help the town of South Park. You're a citizen here and I want to help you."

Craig sighed, "I got suspended from school today. There's this boy, Tweek Tweak, who is constantly bullied at school. I just tried to protect him but it ended in a fight." He lifted his jacket to show the hero black and blue bruises on his stomach and rib cage from multiple blows from fists and shoes. "He's probably mad at me since I won't be able to protect him for a couple of days."

Mysterion listened contently and didn't interrupt the boy's speech. "I'm sure he isn't mad at you. You did your best to help. And if you still want to help, you could work at his coffee shop."

Craig nodded and looked up at the figure, "I guess you're right." He pulled himself up. "Thanks. I should go home now."

Mysterion nodded and Craig offered a small smile. He turned away and started his journey back home. The guardian angel watched him fade out of view.

Craig pulled his phone out, small crystals of snow landed on the screen as he dialed Tweek's number.

The phone rang twice before Tweek Tweak picked up the phone.

"Who is this?" Tweek almost shouted.

"It's me, Craig."

"Oh. H-hi Craig!" He stuttered.

"Since I got suspended, do you think I could help out at the shop because I can't help at school?" the boy offered.

"S-sure!" The twitching boy was excited to spend more time with Craig.

"You're not mad at me, right?" The stoic boy added, just to be sure.

"Of c-course not, d-dude," Craig relaxed at Tweek's words.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye!" Tweek almost shouted into the speaker again.

Craig closed his phone and shoved it in his pocket. Snow collected on his hat as the sky darkened to deep shades of blue and red and purple.

The boy reached his house and the porch light illuminated his swollen eye. He unlocked the door and entered the familiar room.

He kicked off his shoes and walked to his room, excited about his new job the next day. He got ready for bed and laid down on his cold mattress.

As he drifted into a dreamless sleep, the boy couldn't seem to get one thing off his mind: Mysterion.