The Adventures of Creek: Prom Night

Chapter Two: Girls Are Always Trouble

From Tweek's point of view:

A small beam of light is peaking through the curtains on my window. Sunrise already and time for school. I toss Craig's hoodie into my closet with the other piles of clothes that I have and bury it a litte too, just in case. I head downstairs for the only breakfast food I have ever enjoyed--coffee. My favorite coffee is black and hot-- the stronger the better. The best part is when the hot coffee slides down my throat and ignites this warm spark through my veins and when the spark is over, I feel whole and center; balanced.

"Good morning, mom, dad!"

"Good morning son." Says my father.

"Tweek, your jacket?" My mother chimes as she points back upstairs. "And don't forget, you have work again tod-"

"Yes mom, I know. I work every Monday. I'll be there."

I quickly head upstairs, snatch my jacket resting on my desk chair and head back down. I pour myself a canteen of hot coffee and head out to school. I'm seventeen, I can legally drive but I don't--won't? Regardless, I do not see the point with our town so small I can walk everywhere for free.
I can see the sun high in the sky today sparkling down on the couple of inches of snow we received last night. It is almost spring so it gets a bit warmer each day.

'This will probably be melted by two or three today,' I think to myself.

All I can think about on my way to school today is Craig. We sneak out often to see each other but last night was different. Normally we talk and laugh and goof around but last night I could have slept there on that bench. If I would have froze next to him and remained an ice sculpture all my life, then that would be heaven. His hoodie though, his hoodie--Craig never shares anything not even french fries.

'Maybe he does--maybe he really does..." Glup. 'Love me..'

Its is always one thing to say 'I love you'. Anyone can say the words 'I love you' but to mean those words means not only that you love someone and care for them but when in a relationship, the words 'I love you' implies that you're in love with someone. Anyone can say 'I love you' but to be 'in love with you'---

I have never had a crush on anyone growing up but I always knew I was different from the boys in my town; especially when we went through puberty. All the other boys were drooling over the girls and the girls were all drooling over Craig--or at least that's how it seemed to me. He was always nice to the girls and bit flirtatious but he never really seemed interested, like it was an act to impress the other boys.
I saw Craig when he was alone once with a girl. They were sitting at a bench in the courtyard at school. Detention was over all the other students rushed home or where ever, anywhere to get away from school; but Craig and this girl they strolled out and casually walked over to this bench. She was very beautiful, one of the most beautiful girls at the school and she was all over Craig. She laughed and giggled at almost anything he said. I saw her lean in to kiss Craig and that's when I saw Craig's face. He was almost in shock and slightly confused. He puckered his lips to kiss her back but the closer he got to her, the more his face turned a slight shade of green. He kissed his index and middle finger and placed them on her lips. He got up from the bench and sped off and left the girl behind. Before she realized what had happened he was half way across the courtyard. I thought maybe it was nerves of a first kiss but looking back now he never did kiss her or any other girl. He just lets them fawn over him and he politely fawns back.
To this day, that is the memory I remember first when I think of Craig and where my curiosity and feelings for him began. Any other guy would have just kissed her but he didn't--I guess that's why I started to like him because he was different; forget undeniably attractive, he was different.

Finally, here at school. I pull my phone out of my pocket. 7:01am. On time with fourteen minutes to spare. I enter the main hallway in the school past the front doors and there's a huge crowd around the announcement board. I can hear classmates, especially the girls giggling and screeching with excitement. I see my good friend Wendy walking by with Stan, her boyfriend and I over hear her say,

"You're going to take me right, Stan?"

I see Stan's face blush and he rolls his eyes as they head off to class. From the crowd, I can see Craig trying to be standoffish from three girls. There is Bebe the pretty blonde, Red the known party animal, and Heidi who had just recently broken up with her boyfriend Cartman; again. Heidi and Cartman have been on and off since the fifth grade and every time they were off she would date someone else. Craig must be her new target. Red is nothing more than a bodacious flirt so she has never really been a threat and it made sense that for whatever reason she is by Craig. However, there was still Bebe Stevens who was also by Craig. She is the one who almost got a kiss from him all those years ago and hasn't let it go. Her focus has never left or shifted from Craig because to her, no matter how hard she tries, she's never been rejected.
I'm curious to see what all the excitement is about. I make my way through the crowd and see a poster pinned to the board. Just four little letters stick out the most. Prom. All I could read was the word Prom. I step back and my eyes slowly shift over to Craig. He's giggling and flirting with girls. Clyde and Token are teasing with him, Clyde especially being a jock of the school that he is also trying to win over some attention from the girls. Jimmy making jokes at Clyde for being an attention whore and for always being so narcissistic. I stare at him-- Craig-- as I become invisible in the crowd.

'Bebe, Red and Hedi. Bebe, Red and Heidi. Bebe, Red and Heidi' I repeat to myself as continue to step out of the crowd and get as quickly to homeroom as possible without being noticed. I sit down at my desk and bury my head. I do not know if he saw me or not but I hope he didn't, I don't want him to know how much it hurts. How much I wish it could be me.