BloodLoss - epix74 - South Park [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter Text

I sat in front of a familiar latte macchiato, it looked freshly made from the steam coming off of it. I don't want milk, the odd thought ran through my head. My gaze was fixed onto the alluring browns of the espresso, almost hidden underneath. I don't need coffee, the odd thought ran through my head. I dove my dirty fingers, stained with my last meal, and scooped out drops, puncturing the white.

My fingers slid in my mouth.

⊹⊱•••《 ✮ 》•••⊰⊹

As soon as a drop landed on my tongue, I jolted awake, as I did every morning, yet it always catches me off guard. At this point my body had been hardwired to wake up before my parents did, god knows I did not want them to be the first thing I saw on the new day, it’d put me in a bad mood. I left the house with the clothes I slept with and stocked with multiple cups of special coffee.

I trudged my way to school at the crack of dawn, downing another one of the signature Tweek Bros coffee. Why sleep for eight hours when drinking caffeine was faster, right? I try not to think too hard about what I was putting into my body as I made it to my highschool, the bane of my existence besides work. School doesn’t start until 7:30 but its doors open way earlier than that.

I make my way to homeroom, my first class and only class to be held upstairs, the reason why I come so early. Turns out, when your whole life is an all nighter you tend to get pretty weak. There’s no way I’d be able to keep up the pace during the morning scramble.

I grip the railings and braced my pathetic legs to climb this mountain. I slowly but surely pulled myself up, taking a longer than acceptable break between each step. I felt embarrassed at my athletic limits but what was I supposed to do?

I finally made it to the top and fell to my knees, my heart racing. “One of these days, I’ll die on these stairs.” A morbid thought went through my head. I gradually stood up and continued my way to class.

After many twists and turns (mostly in circles) I made it to class, two hours early. Another reason I came so early was to get away from home. I could finally relax for an hour or two without my parents up my a** or dealing with teachers and unfavorable students.

I press my cold and shaky fingers onto the unlocked homeroom door, excited to relinquish in my five seconds of peace. The door creaked and revealed… a boy?

I jumped and let out an audible gasp. “Erk, why would someone be here this early?!” I frantically thought. D*mnit, this was my only moment of peace! And there’s no way in hell I’d spend it in another classroom, that’d be embarrassing!

I looked back into the classroom to take a better look at the boy. I actually hadn’t recognized him at all. Although that could be because I don’t really talk to anyone in class. With his jet black hair and lanky build, I feel like I would’ve noticed? He seemed unbothered so I anxiously walked in.

As soon as I took a step into the room the boy whipped around and locked eyes with me. His eyes felt a black hole that I couldn’t break away from, even though I desperately wanted to. I stood there like a deer in headlights, my blood running cold.

“...You can come in y'know.” The boy’s monotonous voice echoed in the quiet classroom, making it impossible to pretend I didn’t hear him. I sheepishly listened and sat down at my desk. I couldn’t help but notice him staring at me, slightly scrunching his nose while scanning me up and down like TSA. Gah- was I doing something wrong?!

What was supposed to be the most relaxing part of my day had turned into a social nightmare. I kept sneaking glances at him, waiting for him to take the hint. But it only felt like it was getting worse.

“Erk- You're n-new here, right?” I break the awkward silence while biting the tips of my fingers. The boy took one last look up and down at me and answered, “Yeah, Craig.” His eyes narrowed.

“...Craig, like that’s your erk- name?” I twitched. “No it’s actually the name of my dog.” Craig rolled his eyes. I looked down at my desk in embarrassment, I should-

I slapped my cheeks and threw myself back into reality, gah- why would I ever do that over something so small?! “Nngh, my name is Tweek!” I, against all odds, made eye contact with his soul-sucking pupils again.

“You know the joke is over dude, you can tell me your name now.” Craig sighed and stared me down with his deep dark eyes, like I was a woke comedian. I bit my lip.

“N-No like, my name is Tweek! Tweek Tweak! You know Tweek Bros right?”

“God, it’s like your parents were doing meth when they had you.”

An awkward silence filled the room, as my heart grew cold. Metaphorically this time.

“How did you- nngh, why would you say that?!” My eye spasmed and shook with the rest of my body. People knowing I’m a meth head in a family full of meth heads would be like, the second worst thing to know about me.

“...I’m going to take that as a yes.” Craig’s voice trailed off, realizing how much of a nutcase I was. He gave one last look up and down and left me alone. For better or for worse. I put my head down in shame, I just had to give a bad impression to the only kid in this school who probably didn’t think I was a freak until now. I let my thoughts guide me, from the dark to the light, until the bell rang for class.

⊹⊱•••《 ✮ 》•••⊰⊹

“Gonna have another tic, Tweek?” My back was harshly shoved onto the jagged edges of the lockers, bruising my shoulder blades. “You're gonna cry or are your eyes too much of a spaz to let anything out!” A bellowing laugh echoed through the halls.

“Knock it off Cartman, pick on someone your own size tubby!” Kyle, followed by Stan, snarled and pulled Eric away from me. I would’ve fought back but lately I don’t have the energy for it.

“Whatever Kyle! You’re just jealous that I’m a LINEBACKER and you're a lazy jew!”

“Linebacker of a small town highschool! It was between you and Scott Malkinson!”

“Nananana I’m super successful and Kyle super isn’t~”

“D*MNIT CARTMAN I’M GONNA-”

“STOP IT!” A loud feminine voice blasted through the hallway, a booming voice that silenced all chattering, even from uninvolved students.

“Oh come on Wendy you should’ve-”

“No Kyle! As president of the school council I command you two to report to the office for misconduct!”

Eric gave a smirk to Kyle as they both quietly made their way downstairs. All who was left was me on the ground and Stan Marsh lingering around.

Wendy’s eyes shot to Stan next, lasering him with tough love. “Stan, are you just going to let crap like this happen in front of you?! I know you’re better than that!”

Stan looked down, “I-I don’t know Wendy, I didn’t want to get my hands dirty-”

“Man up!” Wendy interrupted, not letting Stan complete his train of thought. Unfortunately, Wendy finally got to me.

“And you! Tweek you need to start standing up for yourself, I can't always be there y'know!” My eyebrows furrowed, does it look like I choose to be weak?!

As quick as she came, Wendy left, disappearing by the next turn. Stan awkwardly shuffled away and everyone continued with their lives. And I continued sitting on the floor until I found the energy to get up.

⊹⊱•••《 ✮ 》•••⊰⊹

By the time I left the floor, the halls had emptied as even the most tardy of students had made it to class. A slight dizziness took over me as I trudged toward the bathroom, my teeth grinding against eachother.

I made it to my favorite bathroom, a bathroom no one used due to the horrific smells that dwelled in it. Strong emotions rushed through my veins as I became desperate to let them out. My breathing grew fast and my heart trembled as I rummaged through my pockets. Time stopped as I felt the sharp cool edge of my metallic razor blade, its voice calling to me almost seductively.

I rolled up my sleeves and placed them over the rust covered sink, greeted by my past episodes from months to years ago. I held my breath as I began to run the blade over one of the few bare spots left on my arm, a sick smile found its way on my face.

Relief flooded with the blood as the red started to get all over the sink, staining it permanently. I hissed as the pain sedated me and calmed my nerves. For a moment my parents, the coffee shop, Cartman, and Wendy left my mind as my brain was preoccupied with the aching cut on my arm. And I needed more, I needed to feel more numb. I needed just one more moment of peace.

One moment turned to two, which led to the bell ringing, bringing me back to reality that my arms were open and soaked. And yet I couldn't feel more at peace. I let the water flow over my arms, which felt like bringing a paper towel to a pool. However I couldn't help but feel someone had been watching me this whole time. My head jerked up to look in the mirror, to catch them in the act. Yet all I saw staring back was a depressing blond kid with seeping eye bags. Ignoring the false alarm, I tried to clean up as much as I could, patching the persistent cuts with a couple bandages I kept with me. As if I wanted to relapse.

As I walked to my next class I felt a sense of disgust creep up on me, another scar that would be apart of me for seemingly forever, making me feel damaged goods. A broken person even. A mark left on me, like stripes on a wasp to let everyone else know to stay away. Biting my lip, I shakily opened the door to my math class, so late I wondered why I bothered to even come.

The lingering throbs of pain made me forget about all the eyes on me as I took my seat next to the back next to-

“Hey… Tweet?” The boy from the morning was sat right next to me, a spot no one dared to take

“Ergh- it's Tweek but whatever…” My voice trailed off, I was too tired to care too much. I felt him stare at me, I couldn't bear to look at him.

“I heard what happened, you’re kind of lame, y'know.” The boy casually dropped which caused me to jolt. “Like aren't you a meth head or something, you should be like super strong or whatever.”

“GAH- Don't nngh- say that so loud, you prick!” My temper grew short. This guy just had a way of pissing me off. “And what are you even talking about anyway?!”

The boy looked down, giving me a chance to take a glimpse at his midnight black hair poorly covered with a blue chullo, “That Wendy girl told me about it, apparently you just let them have their way with you all year long.”

“Of course Wendy told you that!” I started to shake, “What do you know?!”

A hand was firmly placed on my shoulder, yet it felt so gentle. I stayed silent as I looked up at the boy, only to be sucked into his eyes. I jump and quickly look away, “S-Stop looking at me nngh- I can't take it.”

The boy quickly darted his eyes away, almost as if he was hurt or offended by it. With his eyes in a different direction, I finally got a good look at him. His face was unusually thin, like it didn't always look like that, dark bags dragged his eyes down, with a long nose and a permanent frown, I bit my lip. He looked somewhat sickly, yet I couldn’t stop indulging myself by staring at him. And his hand was on my shoulder!

“Look I'm not here to call you out, Wendy just wanted me to help you out.” The boy muttered, still looking away, “She's just kind of pairing us up yknow? New kid and troubled kid things.”

My sharp attitude began to fade, yet my increasing heartbeat continued. Unable to differentiate between a crush or a case of arrhythmia. “Nngh.. help with what?”

“Settling in, friends, touring around.” He counted on his spindly, yet rough fingers. A friend would be nice as my life had devolved into school, work, and survival. A hot friend at that too.

My cheeks were dusted with a light red as I looked away, not deterred by his eyes this time around. “Yeah sure- erk, we could have lunch together.. Maybe.”

When lunchtime rolled around after class, I guided my supposed new friend to the cafeteria. The lunch room was full of shouting, chatting, and it was only about time until a fight had broken out. I never spent much time here anyway, I wasn’t hungry much and had enough headaches myself, both problems caused by my caffeine consumption. But I had to be a good student guide so I toughed it out.

Craig and I waited in the long, ever spiraling line. Even though it was a small school, the staff were even smaller. It was beginning to feel awkward just standing around, not speaking to one another. I bit my lip and began to speak.

“Uhm, where are- where are you from?” My voice fell hoarse.

“Where, I’m from?” Craig scratched the back of his neck, “Uh, Denver.”
“Yeah, Denver…” God, couldn’t he say a little more?! “So you’re like.. a city boy?”

Craig simply shrugged, “I guess you could say that, was more city than South Park honestly. A lot more laws too.”

My right eye scrunched as if it was in the middle of winking, “Erk- what does that mean?!” A light bonk delivered by “prince charming” ruffled my knotted hair. “Something about a drug policy, you think marijuana's legal here too?” God, he was messing with me again! Yet I couldn't help but let it go. Maybe I should prod him a bit more so I could feel his fist once more?

My gay fantasies were interrupted by the line finally moving enough so the two of us wouldn't starve to death. The lunch really couldn't look any less appetizing, but you get what you can get really.

Tray in hand, I slogged my way to an empty table for me and Craig to sit at. The seats were vacant but we were surrounded by loud groups, gossiping, sh*ttalking, and burping contests. I felt my head pound as I sat down.

Craig soon followed, clearly uncomfortable. “What the hell, is it always this loud?!” He plugged his ears the best he could. “Uhm, yeah, everyone's- erk, insufferable here.”

“Whatever, can we just go somewhere else?!”

“Nngh, fine.” I grabbed my lunch and led Craig to the library, which was a wasteland at this time.

A sigh of relief echoed from behind me. I guess Craig was more sensitive to noise than I'd imagine. We took our seats in a small rounded table and plopped our trays, the clacking sound rung throughout the room.

“Better now?”

“Better.”

I finally took a good look at what was served for lunch. I think the menu said it was supposed to be a grilled cheese, but you couldn't tell just by looking at it. It was merely a sad hotdog bun with half melted mozzarella in the middle, like a replacement for an actual hotdog. It came with a small wet side salad, a dole peach cup, and a warm strawberry gogurt. “Welcome to America…” I thought as I kept poking at the impostor cheese sandwich.

“You're not eating?” Craig muffled, his mouth stuffed with dry bread. My face scrunched as I watched him swallow the abomination. “You are?”

He shrugged, “Food is food to me” He took another bite and spoke with his mouth open, “You didn't answer my question though.”

“I'm going to be nnngh- real with you I have too much caffeine running through my blood to eat anything right now.”

“Just caffeine?” His eyebrow shot up.

“Gah- I'M GOING TO F*CKING KILL YOU!” I twitched while pulling on my blond hair

Craig jerked up from his seat, his eyes widened. “Woah, can you chill for one moment?!” He held me down by the shoulders, “I'm sorry, okay?!”

My face flushed red as I awkwardly slithered back into my seat. D*mnit, I really need to cut back before it's too late. However this thought wasn't very original in the slightest.

Still, feeling embarrassed, I pushed my tray towards him “Erk-You can just e-eat it…” I was on my way to the walk of shame when my green button up was tugged on from the back. “You can stay, if you want.” Craig stared me down with his infamous dark eyes. And like a black hole, they drew me back in.

“Erghh- Sorry man I just, well.. nngh.” I twitched, grasping at straws for a reason.
While picking at my skin a fruit cup flung my way and hit me square on the chest.

“You're not you when you're hungry.” His neutral frown turned into a slight smirk, which lightened the air around them.

I struggled to peel off the lid with my bitten, nubby fingers, but being with Craig kept my emotions down. Eventually, mercy was bestowed on me as the plastic film covering the corn syrup covered peach chunks came off. I picked at the fruit, uninterested in taking a bite, which Craig took note of.

Before I knew it, a spoon full of sugary peaches was thrusted into my mouth. I co*cked my head up to reveal Craig's smug face looking back at me. Avoiding his eyes, I felt my face heat up and my heart quicken. This time more sure it was a crush.

“You shouldn't play with your food, didn't your parents ever tell you that?” Craig teased, knowing my mouth was too full to reply. I looked down and continued to chew as if I wasn't fed like a baby. Why is this guy so forward? No way he was… flirting-

“Excuse me Tweek, you know you're not supposed to be eating in the library!” The same voice from this morning ruined the moment. I completely forgot that food wasn't allowed here, what an annoying rule.

“At this rate I'll have to give you-” Wendy paused as she made brief eye contact with Craig, “Oh… Craig's with you?” She looked back at me.

“The cafeteria was too loud so…” Craig's voice awkwardly trailed off, enough that even the toughest of leaders would pity.

“Well I'll give you a pass because you're new, but you have to clean up after.” Her arms crossed, “Disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer can be found in the janitor's closet.” And as quickly as she came, she'd left.

An audible sigh of relief parted from my lips, “Thank god.”

“Never knew you were so afraid of punishment, you're like a straight A student?” He rested his face onto his palm.

“N-No erk- it's not like that, my parents would be super pissed if I got detention or something.”

“Dang, your parents are strict, mine wouldn't even care.”

“It's only ‘cause I have to work at their sh*tty coffee shop after school, I bet they'd be ecstatic if I were suspended or something.”

“Most people would kill for a part time job, how much are you getting paid for it?”

I let out a huge groan, “Nngh, that's the thing, I'm not getting paid, and I'm being killed for this ‘part time’ job.”

“Isn't that like child labor, or is South Park not city enough for laws-” The bell rang ear-shatteringly loud as the halls filled with students noisy chattering while heading to their next class.