Cyrus' eyebrows were furrowed in confusion now. The blonde-haired boy to Isaac's right seemed be retreating into himself; avoiding Cyrus' eye and responding to Isaac with half-hearted smiles. For someone who usually looked more stoic, he certainly seemed to be displaying a lot of emotion at that moment.
He couldn't help but wonder if Isaac's friends even agreed with what he was doing half the time.
"Hey! What's going on?"
Cyrus didn't think he had ever been so grateful to hear a voice in his life, and he let out a relieved sigh as TJ jogged over.
"What do you guys think you're doing?"
Isaac's eyes went straight to TJ's pride pin. He ignored the boy's question entirely. "Why are you wearing that shit, bro?" he demanded.
"Why the fuck not?"
"'Are you kidding? People will think-"
"Stop assuming shit," TJ snapped. "Didn't you hear me when I told you to fuck off?"
Isaac gave him a withering look, but TJ didn't back down. After a few moments, he let out a disbelieving huff. "You're a fucking asshole, Kippen. And if you ever try running back to me again, I swear I'll-"
"That won't be happening. Get the hell out of here now."
The boy lingered for a moment as if he was torn between staying longer just to disobey the command, and leaving to prove that he was entirely done with TJ. He eventually seemed to choose the latter, because he turned around with a scoff and gestured for the group to follow him.
The same boy who he had noticed in the cafeteria a few weeks ago - Rafael as he later discovered - lingered for a moment longer than the rest. He gave TJ an indecipherable look, and the athlete gave him a small nod. Soon, he was turning around and jogging to catch up with the group.
When they were all out of earshot, Cyrus turned to TJ with a grateful smile.
"Thanks," he murmured, watching as the boy hesitantly sat down next to him.
"It was nothing. I'm pretty sure he was mostly interested in me, so I'm sorry you had to get caught up in it."
"It's fine." he assured, placing a gentle hand on his arm.
TJ relaxed slightly at the boy's touch, and his frown melted into a soft smile.
Cyrus was almost entirely convinced he could look at that smile all day.
~
It was Friday evening now and they were both sprawled across Cyrus' bed. Although it had been scorching throughout the day, the temperature had thankfully cooled by now.
"Something interesting happened last night."
Cyrus turned his head to look at the TJ, an eyebrow raised in question. "Like what?"
"Well...I know I never really talked about my friends much, but they weren't all bad. There were these two boys...Rafael and Jamie."
Cyrus' eyes widened. So he hadn't been seeing things?
"They were different to the rest of them."
"In what way?" Cyrus asked, turning fully to face the boy.
TJ looked up at the ceiling for a moment, his expression thoughtful. "They don't think like the other guys. I know it probably seemed like they did...but they didn't."
Cyrus broke the silence that settled after that with a question.
"...Were you friends with them?"
"I think so. Jamie could be a bit closed off sometimes...but they were both there for me when most people weren't."
Another silence fell. Cyrus couldn't help but think back to TJ's apology.
"So...when you told Buffy that you cared more about me than all of them combined...was that true?"
TJ turned his body to face Cyrus, his expression soft. "I had kinda just had a big argument with them about Isaac, so I really wasn't thinking straight. I care about you, Cy. But I also care about them."
Cyrus nodded, cautiously reaching out to place a comforting hand on the boy's arm. "Well...you can tell them that they're always welcome to sit with us at school. Or hang out with us."
TJ smiled gratefully. "That's actually what I wanted to talk about. Rafael came out on Facebook yesterday."
"He did? But...Isaac-"
"He ditched them yesterday - after we saw them walk off. Jamie went with him."
"Whoa."
TJ nodded, a small smile on his lips as he grabbed his phone. "This is our group chat right now."
He handed Cyrus his phone, and the boy took it with an amazed smile.
#isaacisoverparty
Jamie: lolll okay yeah, so i've concluded that an Isaac-free lifestyle is definitely way less stressful guys
Rafael: Yep, agreed. I can finally wear that 'gay af' shirt I bought like 6 months ago
Jamie: got any that have 'ally af' on them?
Rafael: Hahah, no unfortunately
Rafael: Brb I'll look online
Jamie: thank u so much
Jamie: oh btw! u down for some one-on-one basketball tomorrow, teej?
Cyrus' heart melted at that. He handed the phone back with an excited grin. "Does this mean you can all be friends now?"
"I think so," TJ responded, returning the smile.
"How would you feel about cheer-leading for my game against Jamie tomorrow?"
"I'd be honoured."
YOU ARE READING
chalk ; tyrus {completed}
Fanfiction"He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, very convinced that he was just seeing things, but when he opened them again the scene hadn't changed. He was still in his bedroom, looking at his neighbour's house, and 𝘛𝘑 𝘒𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 was still sitting c...
chapter 12 - a confession
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