Meet some friends of mine

The after party

Authors note: new POV unlocked oooh spicy

Craigs POV:
I clock off work at midnight, last orders were 11.
I've been doing bar work to help pay for my astronomy classes and I'm wiped out. I check my phone and see a voicemail, probably from Tweek. I smile. His usual calls consist of him frantically explaining how he went to some party, drunk too much and needs a ride home and that he loves me but is slightly freaking out because he can't remember where exactly the club is or how he got there.
Then I simply laugh, tell him not to worry and to put his location on, that I'm on my way. My hero he'd say, grinning.

He claims the drugs and booze relax him and make him less high-strung. It's hard to tell with him.
I actually wanted to go to this particular party tonight but couldn't get the evening off. I open the voicemail and to my surprise it's Kyle Broflovski.

Hey Craig, sorry to call you like this. It's nothing to worry about but Tweek is kinda a mess, Kenny got him into some shit and - yeah. Enough said. Well anyway I think you should get here ASAP, I'll text the address.

I sigh. Tweeks always been a mess. He has too much energy and I don't have enough, we balance each other out. "Opposites attract" I tell him, when he's being particularly hysterical.
I stop him from going off the rails and he stops me from being a grouch, it's a system we've turned into an art. He can look after himself though, he's not some damsel in distress. Kenny, though. Now that's a troubled guy. I didn't know anyone could be more cynical and nihilistic than me. He just doesn't care about anything. Maybe if he had someone he loved as much as I love Tweek he'd mellow out a bit. I check the time of the voicemail and it's from over an hour ago. Better hurry over there, I think to myself, starting the engine of my car. The night air is freezing so I put the heater on and pull on my blue hat from out of the glove box.

Y/N's POV
"Let's get out of here" Kyle says to me emotionlessly, storming in from the garden.
"Sure" I say, surprised but excited. This cold side of him is hot, maybe he just can't wait to get me out of this dress. He takes my hand and leads me to the door. It's pretty dead now anyway. Jimmy left with the mystery girl ages ago and Butters had to be back for his parents curfew. He's the only adult I know that still gets grounded. Pretty much everyone is gone except Clyde and Token smoking in the corner and Cartman and Heidi who are looking into each others eyes and talking intently on the sofa. I think Tweek and Kenny are still upstairs but I lost track of everyone. I try to wave to Eric and Heidi but neither of them take any notice, wrapped up in each other. The cold air hits me as we step out and I shiver.
We get into the car and Kyle pulls a sweater out from the back seat and hands it to me.
"You're so thoughtful, you know that? Don't ever let Cartman make you think that's a weakness" I say into the darkness, slightly drunk and thinking I'm being super deep and meaningful. He puts his hand onto my thigh and I lean in and kiss him. "My place?" I ask. I have my own place whilst Kyle still lives with his parents and Ike. He removes his hand from my thigh, puts it on the steering wheel and pulls off. I can't wait to replace it.

Craigs POV:
I arrive at the address Kyle sent me and walk up to the door. No one answers my knock so I let myself in.
"Hello?" I ask in vain. The living room is empty apart from various bottles and cigarette ash strewn across the carpet. I walk carefully through the house, avoiding the most questionable stains. The kitchen is also empty. I stick my head outside the back door and to my surprise see Stan Marsh sat on the step, head in his hands, silently crying.
"Stan? Are you okay?" I ask gently, abandoning my mission and stepping out into the dark.
"No" he moans, incredibly drunk.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" I ask, squatting down next to him.
"No" he says again, same forlorn tone.
We sit in silence for a bit, a few more muffled sobs cutting through the darkness. I notice a bottle of Jack Daniels laying in the grass in front of him.
"What's it like being gay?" He suddenly asks out of nowhere. "I mean like in a small town like South Park. Do your parents hate you?" He's stopped crying and is looking at me intensely.
I can't stop myself from laughing. "No. It's not the dark ages anymore. I think my dad actually likes me more since I came out. Why are you even asking?"
"No reason" he says, staring off into the distance.
"You can let it out if you want to. I won't tell a soul, not even Tweek-Tweek. I won't even remember in the morning" I reassure him. I can sense something is weighing heavy on him and he needs to get it off his chest.

"I liked someone for a long time but I didn't think I had a chance so I never said anything. It turns out there was a small window where they liked me back and we maybe could have actually done something about it but now he- they have moved on and it's gone. I wish I could just go back. I wish I knew how they'd felt at the time" he manages sloppily.

"Feelings like that don't just disappear. Not if it's for real" I declare. "I reckon you still have as much of a chance as ever. Do they know you like them?"
"No, I didn't want to give them the chance to lord it over me. It's definitely done and there's no going back. I'm not good at this feelings shit" he sighs, looking up at me with lost and wild blue eyes.
He reminds me of Tweek when he's got himself into a panic and thinks there's no way out and that there's so much pressure on him, when really it's a simple fix. I assume my natural role as the voice of reason, years of practise under my belt.
"Come on, let's get you out of the cold, you'll freeze out here" I say, standing up and reaching out my hand to him. He takes it and pulls himself up. Then without letting go leans in and kisses me. I step back quickly.
"Oh man. I'm sorry I didn't mean...you know, I'm with Tweek and-"
He groans and smacks his head against the glass sliding door.
"I'm such a fuck up" he mumbles, reaching out for the whiskey that was previously laying in the grass and swigging directly from the bottle.
"It's okay i'll just...I'll leave you to it" I say awkwardly, ducking back inside and heading up the stairs to find Tweek. I head for the bathroom.
"Hey baby" he slurs, grinning at me. I roll my eyes.  "You're lucky I love you or you'd be sleeping in the bath tub." I say. "Come on, let's get you home. Kenny, do you need a lift?" I ask the dirty blonde stood next to my boyfriend. He's totally gone, just staring at the wall.
"Huh? No, no. I'm good, thanks" he says unconvincingly.
"You're staying here? You cannot drive in this state" I state firmly
"Yeah yeah whatever.." he trails off
"Okay. Well, see you around then. Come on Tweek."