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Tweek Tweak had always struggled to pay attention in class. It wasn’t that she didn’t try; it was just that her mind whirled at a thousand miles an hour with competing thoughts that drowned out the teacher's monotonous drone for whatever lesson they were trying to preach.
What if someone shot up the school?
What if the FBI came after her because of her search history?
What if the girl who sat in front of her with the really pretty eyes was actually a succubus and was biding her time until she could devour everyone’s souls, leaving Tweek until last so she could witness the carnage?
Jesus Christ, Tweek couldn’t handle that. It was too much pressure!
None of it was likely to happen, of course, but Tweek’s busy mind could never help the what-ifs. They tortured her, making concentration impossible and leaving her a jittery wreck ripe for bullying, and God only knows what else. Perhaps someone was lying in wait to kidnap her and—
As the tornado of boisterous thoughts whipped through her mind, the girl in front turned, and, for a horrifying second, Tweek wondered if she had said the thoughts aloud. They locked eyes—hers really were pretty, blue and sparkling like the ocean—and Tweek’s heart launched itself to her throat. Like a startled deer, she stared until, finally, the girl cleared her throat. Tweek followed her gaze down to the sheets of paper in her hand and felt the blood rush to her face as she realised what was happening.
“Uh, thanks!” Tweek squeaked, reaching to accept the handouts but dropping them instead. The girl's lips quirked as Tweek stood abruptly, her chair scraping loudly enough to draw attention. Tweek ducked her head as she hurriedly collected the fallen paper, face bright red as her peers and teacher stared.
Tweek wasn’t aware the other girl had gotten up to help until a cold hand brushed hers. She startled, managing not to scream, and once again, they locked eyes. Tweek really should know her name. They’d been in class together for two months now, but Tweek had never been good with names. Did that make her rude? Oh, God, it made her rude, didn’t it?!
“Here,” the girl said stoically, and, Jesus Christ, she must hate Tweek. She must—
“Thanks!” Tweek squeaked, stifling her spiralling anxieties and grabbing the stack of paper handed to her. With her head ducked low, Tweek placed the sheets on the desk behind hers and sat down. She could feel the other students' gazes and knew they were smirking like malicious little demons, but she didn’t look. Not so much because she cared about what the rest of her class thought of her, but because she could feel those pretty eyes still burning into her and, for whatever reason, she didn’t want to see the cruel amusement on that particular face.
The rest of class passed in a blur. Tweek’s chatty brain wouldn’t shut the fuck up, so she had no idea what had happened, but before she knew it, the bell was ringing, and students were loudly filing out of the room.
Tweek didn’t bother rushing. It was the end of the day, and she hated navigating the corridors while hundreds of kids filed through them, noisy and pushing in their hurry to escape their shared prison.
Absorbed as she was in her own world, she didn’t notice the person lingering by the door until she finally finished packing her bag and crossed the maze of desks to the exit. Panic washed over her like a flash flood, and Tweek stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide and unblinking as she watched the girl leaning casually against the wall, waiting for her.
Waiting for her, why? Had Tweek’s embarrassing little mishap earlier angered her somehow? Or did she just thrive on bullying for no reason? Or maybe—
“Hey, it’s Tweek, right?” the girl asked. Despite Tweek’s terror, she couldn’t help but seek out her eyes. They were calm, with no storm clouds on the horizon. Huh. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as she expected.
Or, it could be worse.
“Yes!” Tweek squeaked her reply.
“Craig,” the girl replied casually. Tweek had never heard that name for a girl before, but somehow it suited Craig. Tweek jerked her head in something approaching a nod and then waited, unsure what was happening.
For a moment, they just stared at each other in silence. From the hallway, a song drifted into the room. Tweek thought it might be by Hootie & The Blowfish.
The silence between them dragged on. Tweek felt sweat creeping down her neck, the uncertainty of what was happening freaking her out. She didn’t dare move, not even so much as a twitch, which was surprisingly tricky for Tweek—she twitched rather a lot.
Finally, Craig said, “Do you have plans?”
Tweek’s body spasmed in surprise. “Huh?!”
Craig seemed unfazed. “Right now,” she said, “do you have plans?”
“Um… I was gonna go to my parent’s coffee shop, man!” Did Craig want to know if anybody was expecting her? Was she about to murder Tweek? That seemed a bit extreme, didn’t it? Tweek wasn’t that disruptive in class, and outside of it, people tended to forget she existed unless they required a quick laugh, in which case they tripped her in the hallway.
“To work?” Craig asked, slightly arching a dark eyebrow. Man, they were nice eyebrows. Not too thin or too thick. Dark, the same shade as the luscious black hair that fell almost to her shoulders.
Pretty.
“Uh, no?”
Did Craig’s lips twitch upwards at that, or was it Tweek’s imagination? It had been such a fleeting action she couldn’t be sure either way. “Can I come?”
Tweek’s brain short wired. Huh? She hadn’t been expecting that. Did Craig just fancy a coffee and not know the way? Maybe this was about directions? Or perhaps she was planning to lure Tweek into a dark alleyway and kill her there? Or—
“I thought it might be nice to hang out,” Craig added, noticing the panic dancing across Tweek’s face.
“Hang out?” Tweek repeated dumbly. Nobody thought Tweek would be nice to hang out with. She was the weird, twitchy freak with no friends who never seemed to pay attention but consistently scored in the top percentage in class. People didn’t like her, which was fine because Tweek didn’t really like people, either.
“Yeah,” Craig said patiently. “If I could hang out with you, it would make me so happy.”
This had to be a prank. Tweek didn’t know Craig well, but she certainly wasn’t unpopular. This had to be some kind of ‘She’s All That’ without the falling in love part, right? “Why?” The scepticism dripped from Tweek like treacle.
Craig arched an eyebrow. “Really?” she asked, as if she couldn’t believe Tweek would ask such a thing.
“Yes. Why?”
For a moment, Craig hesitated as if she was considering not answering. That moment passed as the resolve set on her face. “Because I think you’re cute,” she said.
Tweek hadn’t expected that, even with her Noughties-movie theory. What she expected even less was the sincerity on Craig’s face. It was pinched nervously, her pretty eyes shining in hope. Either Craig was an excellent actor, or she was genuine.
“…Huh?”
“It doesn’t have to be a date,” Craig clarified. “Though I would like that more.”
“You want—me—a date?!”
Craig’s laugh was quiet and breathy. She didn’t quite meet Tweek’s eyes, but the twinkle in her own pair hadn’t vanished. Her cheeks flushed pink, which was one, adorable and two, a good indication that she wasn’t messing with Tweek.
How bizarre.
“Why?” Tweek blurted again. Craig had already answered why, but Tweek wasn’t inclined to believe anyone who called her cute—she was gangly, with untameable wild hair and eyebags so big they drew attention to themselves almost as much as Tweek did with her excessive twitching.
“Sometimes there is no why,” Craig said. “I just know I’d like to get to know you better.”
Tweek could feel her ears burning. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Craig, the beautiful girl Tweek liked to watch from afar, had been watching her in return? Could this really be real? Craig seemed so sincere, but Tweek was never one to trust easily.
What was the worst that could happen, though?
Shut up, she told her brain as it started to list all the terrible possibilities. Let me have this.
“Okay,” Tweek said, her voice too high—a squeak, really. “You can come with,” she clarified.
Craig looked like she was trying to restrain a smile. “As a date?” she asked.
“Gah!” Tweek let her eyes flicker around the empty classroom, waiting for somebody to jump out with their phone pointed at her, filming. When that didn’t happen, she jerked her head. Was this really real? “Okay,” she said, “as a date.”
The smile Craig had been trying to restrain broke across her face. She was even prettier when she let down her guard, the sullen expression twisting into joy. Tweek decided she didn’t care to be suspicious any longer. Even if it did end up being a prank, she still got to go on a date with the hottest girl in school—Tweek figured that was a win regardless of the outcome.
And if, for some weird reason, Craig really did like her? Tweek figured it would be very easy to like Craig in return. Especially if she could coax more smiles from her.
As they left the school, walking side by side with hands so close they brushed, Tweek’s mind was finally—thankfully—silent. She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed the moment rather than anticipating the second everything would go wrong. It was nice. Freeing, even. Tweek doubted it would last, but for now, she was more than happy to enjoy the silence and concentrate only on her thrumming heart and peering at Craig from the corner of her eye while they walked. Craig’s hair bounced with each step, and she had a mole on her neck that did something to Tweek.
Fuck, she was pretty.
Tweek had previously considered the possibility of Craig being a succubus. While she hadn’t ruled that possibility out—could a human girl really be so beautiful?—Tweek realised she was no longer afraid to find out. Something had changed in Tweek—Craig had changed something in Tweek, and Tweek realised she was experiencing something she very rarely did—excitement. She was excited, and it made her brave. It made her bold.
Tweek captured the hand that brushed lightly against hers, threading their fingers together.