I Don't Need A Superhero [5/25]
fandom:: south park (( mctucker )) pairing:: mctucker (( kenneth james mccormick/craig tucker )) links:: fanfiction ao3
The nightmares always rouse Craig before anyone else. He wakes with the images of blood and screaming painting his mind. He knows deep down that in that the death was inevitable. One of them was going to die in that house. He is just not sure if Ruby made the right decision in playing God. He nibbles his lip absentmindedly as he wanders around the empty house. He arrives to the kitchen and fixes himself a cup of hot chocolate. He secretly drinks a cup every morning, not wanting to admit just how much he enjoys the sugary indulgence.
Craig munches on the peppermint stick while he cleans up any evidence he had been there. He walks to the bathroom, exiting just when Ruby is waking up. She passes him in the hallway as if not even noticing him. Her eyes are empty as she brushes past. Craig's eyes glance at her, but instead of focusing on surfacing worry he walks to the living room and picks up a novel resting on the coffee table. He loses himself in the book for the next hour. The world of words is so much more pleasurable to the world of his own.
A tap on the shoulder makes Craig slip out of his reading. He looks up and meets eyes like his own and red hair. Lips form a sentence to tell him it is time to go. Craig nods and places the book back in its place. He remembers the page number in case he comes back to it before following Ruby out the front door. Cold air and frost suit their moods when they leave their secret paradise. His feet shuffle on the sidewalk for a bit, but he picks up pace when he pulls out a cigarette. Only one because he and his sister agree that it is cheaper to share a fag between them rather than smoke one a piece. Besides, they both enjoy the closeness of sharing despite neither of them admitting it.
They arrive at the school and part with their usual hesitation. Craig watches her until she is in the building. The cigarette is still between his lips as he watches silently. He does not burn it out until he reaches his own school. He watches the red embers go grey in the wastebin before pushing open the large double doors of South Park High. He stops at his locker which is "fortunately" located near the guidance counsellor.
Craig turns the combination with ease, his locker never changing in the past three years. He had wished to be closer to his friends, but it seems as if that even that does not matter any longer. His friends are gone, but the emotion is drowned out with a tardy bell. It is gone just as fast as it came. The leftover tendrils of the feeling are pushed away before they can form full thoughts of dreams. His dreams never come true in the way he hopes. Dreaming and wishing is a risky business.
Craig walks down the hall with an uncaring air. Mind forced blank as he passes the other lollygaggers in the hallways. He finds his way but is late again. He sits through his class boredly, eyes staring ahead but not really looking. He has perfected the talent of not caring to the very detail. Fifteen minutes into the class his eyes shift to the window. He stares at the falling snow. Snow in November is not an odd thing in for South Park. He watches the flakes fall until he suddenly sees a flash of orange fly past the window. Then there is a face with the colour, one he recognizes from yesterday. A hand is beckoning him over clad in light brown gloves. He shakes his head, noticing that a few students are turning around to stare. It will not be long before the teacher catches them. Craig shakes head even firmer, his face not changing as he tries to get Kenny away before they are sent to the principal. Fortunately, Kenny ducks out of sight by the time the teacher does turn around.
Ten minutes pass before there is a light knock on the door. The teacher sighs wondering who is interrupting her lesson. Despite her slight irritation, she tells the student behind the door that it is unlocked. Craig sees Kenny come in, and those cyan eyes glance at him ever so subtly. None of the other students even notice. They do notice what he says however. "Craig Tucker needs to report to the office immediately," he says appearing serious in a calm, carefree manner. Craig is staring in disbelief wondering what Kenny is up to despite the impassiveness air he is still giving off.
The teacher nods. She is far too used to Craig being sent to the office that she does not even bother to ask for evidence of Kenny's claim. "Mr. Tucker, please leave," she says motioning for Craig to stand. Her eyes shift back to Kenny, who is holding back the urge to grin widely. "As for you Mr. McCormick, can you please tell the central office to wait before or after my class hours to interrupt me? I would appreciate it," she says as she turns back to the board to continue rambling on about whatever she is talking about.
Kenny nods only paying a bit of attention to her. He is actually looking through his peripherals as Craig gathers his stuff. Craig is soon walking out of the door in front of him, and Kenny gives a quick wave to the teacher before he shuts the door behind them. Craig wants to question the situation, but Kenny offers an explanation before he can get the sentence free from his lips. "I was bored, and I thought today was enough to be 'later this week'," he says leading Craig to the nurse's office.
Craig snorts, a look of surprise flitting over his features. His display of surprise is slightly arched eyebrows and maybe widened eyes. Other than that, his face remains impassive. That snort had been the closest thing he had came to a laugh in the weeks since his mother's imprisonment and his father's death. He covers it up just as quickly as it came and looks around the spotless nurse office. He sees why Kenny has brought him here; the poor boy's things are tossed in a corner.
Craig waits as Kenny puts his book and things in his bag, his own hands getting antsy in their waiting. He picks up a tongue depressor to put in his mouth to have something to do. He does not see Kenny's eyes watching his movements, but he does notice when the other is finally done. He adjusts his bag again and walks alongside Kenny out the door. From there he is led to a familiar side door that the school pretends not to know about. He knows because he has sneaked out of this very door several times to escape the prison of a school.
Craig's eyes squint as they adjust to the warm sunshine. He does not question where they are going. His curiosity for things never has been the best. When his mind did begin to wander, it focuses on how the hell had he gotten himself tangled with the person beside him. He decides to take a quick glance to see what expression Kenny is wearing. He is sure that Kenny is someone he can read well. Kenny seems like he is too honest.
Kenny is humming softly with a soft smile on his face. His eyes look straight ahead, and his expression is calm, carefree. Craig stares a bit, his mind blanking as it usually does yet not the same at the exact same time. His eyes fixture on how Kenny's hair is only slightly showing due to the other pulling his hood to cover his head. He did not fasten the mouthpiece, so his face is open to the wind. This also made his face open to Craig's vision. Suddenly the blank thoughts pick up the tendrils of something growing, not from his mind but his heart. Craig stares before suddenly finding it so very hard to breathe. He cannot have a panic attack here, not now. He whispers this to his mind, but then he takes off in a sprint.
The movement is sudden. One moment Kenny is happily humming alongside Craig, and the next moment Craig is running across a snow covered hill. Kenny's eyes open in surprise as he watches for only a few seconds before taking off after Craig wanting to know what is wrong. He saw Craig disappear into the forest camouflage, a blue hat his only guidance as he pushes onto the trail.