Chapter Text
It started when they were twelve. It was an accident, but one that the world made sure they would never forget. They were hanging out near Stark’s Pond after school, by themselves, as was usual seeing as nobody wanted to hang out with an asshole who flipped everybody off, and a kid who couldn’t stop twitching. They both had been friends for years and it seemed they were the only two who could deal with each other’s problems. Craig was less of a dick when Tweek was around and Tweek was calmer the more he was around Craig.
So there they were, Craig was actually in the water wearing the swimming trunks he had put on under his pants, and Tweek was sitting near the shallows attempting to do homework while still keeping an eye on his best friend to soothe his anxiety. They were both so caught up in their own things that they hadn’t noticed the wind picking up or the sky starting to darken. Tweek only noticed when droplets started to land on his papers and he quickly packed them up so they wouldn’t get even wetter. He also called out to Craig a few times to try and get him to come back to shore, but when he didn’t hear the footsteps of his friend coming up behind him he turned around to try and find Craig. He couldn’t see him though and that made his hands twitch which turned into full body tweaks as he watched the water in the pond turn deadly and all he could think was that Craig was somewhere under the waves drowning.
So, He made a split-second decision and raced toward the water barely having enough time to kick his shoes off before he was rushing into the waves and paddling out to where he saw Craig last. He battled against the surprisingly strong currents as he reached his destination and he stabilized himself in the water looking around trying to wipe the rain and pond water out of his eyes as he looked frantically for the black-haired boy. It was hard to make out anything against the harsh water and darkened sky, but Tweek wasn’t about to give up when the only person who understood him was in trouble. Tweek looked around once more before deciding to dive beneath the surface to look for Craig there.
As he dived he had his eyes closed and he had to force himself to open them, instantly regretting it as the water rushed in to sting his eyes. It was hard to close them again but he forced himself not to because he needed to have them open to find Craig. He looked around for as long as he could before he ran out of breath. Tweek practically threw himself to the surface now noticing that lightning was streaking across the sky. He really needed to get him and Craig out of there fast. He dived back down once again this time his eyes were open the whole time as he looked around and finally saw the bright blue of his friend's swim trunks. At that point, he was never so thankful that Craig's parents refused to buy him dark swimwear because if he had been wearing his traditional dark blue or black Tweek would’ve never found him.
Tweek swam down toward Craig as fast as he could even with every stroke he was losing breath. He refused to lose Craig to this, he needed the other boy because without him he would be alone and nobody got him like Craig did. So he reached out to grab Craig’s arm and-
Craig started awake when a bright light flashed behind his eyes and he felt a strange buzz under his skin. All he had wanted to do was swim around the pond for a bit while Tweek got a head start on their homework. What he hadn’t wanted was for the current of a fucking pond to get so strong that he got sucked under and he had to fight for his life to stay above water. In the end, though he lost that battle and was sucked under one last time and he took one giant breath to give himself the best chance at survival. As he sunk down to the bottom of the pond he thought of the blond-headed boy that was probably worried to death about him. To be honest, he hoped that Tweek would just leave and not come after him, but knowing the other boy he would beat himself up for the rest of his life if he just left Craig there to die. Still, he wanted Tweek to get out of there because of how bad of a swimmer Tweek was.
He had just accepted the fact that he was going to drown and was even starting to go unconscious when the flash forced him to open his eyes and he stared at the face of his unconscious best friend, and even under the water he could smell the scent of burning flesh. He felt the tight grip that Tweek had on his arm refusing to let go even when he was passed out. He watched as purple sparks came from nowhere but danced along Tweek’s body and they shocked Craig when they got too close to him. He was fascinated by them and the boy in front of him who just threw himself into a death trap to try and save him. Now it was time for Craig to return the favor though.
He shifted the both of them so Tweek was tucked into his arms and Craig could still push them upwards towards the surface. It worked for a minute as Craig’s adrenaline kept him from truly feeling like he was holding another person in his arms, but even that wore out and Craig’s arms were left feeling like lead as he slowed down. He knew that he couldn’t give up though, he had to get Tweek out of this. He would never forgive himself if he lost Tweek. Gradually though as he swam upwards the boy in his arms started to feel lighter until he couldn’t even feel the weight in his arms at all. He didn’t pay attention to that though, all he was worried about was getting him and Tweek out of there. He swam for a bit longer and finally broke the surface of the water, coughing and gasping for air he noticed that the water was actually calm and the sky was clear of clouds.
He dragged both himself and Tweek to the dirt surrounding the pond and splayed them both on their backs where he just lay there trying to catch his breath and listen for the breathing of his companion. Only when he was sure that Tweek was breathing normally did he close his eyes and let himself succumb to sleep, and the only thing on his mind was - what in the actual fuck just happened.