A/N: Apologies in advance :)
~
TJ was moving around the tent when Cyrus woke up, picking up clothes here and there and tossing them into a pile on his bed.
"Hey." he said, although it had come out more as a question.
The athlete didn't meet his eye as he sat down on the mattress, sorting through his pile.
"Hey." he mumbled back without looking up.
Cyrus' heart sank.
TJ regretted kissing him.
The thought alone made him want to cry or yell or do something drastic to express how he was feeling, but instead he just got up with a sigh and began collecting his own clothes.
Of course TJ regretted it. Why wouldn't he? He probably wasn't even gay.
They packed their suitcases in silence, but it wasn't the silence Cyrus was used to sitting through with TJ. Where the air usually felt light, it was heavy, and the very idea that he had lost TJ's trust was making him dread the trip home.
"Have you seen my polaroid camera?"
Instead of making some quip about how prone Cyrus was to losing things, TJ just nodded his head towards the corner of the tent.
"Thanks." he responded with another sigh, getting up again and grabbing the camera.
"Are you boys nearly ready?" Mrs.Kippen called.
"Yup, we'll be out in a sec!" TJ called back, fumbling with the zip on his suitcase.
"Wow, he speaks." Cyrus quipped, moving back over to his mattress.
TJ didn't respond to that ironically enough, which the other boy couldn't help but scoff at.
They fell back into silence as they packed up their air mattresses, keeping a deliberate space between them.
TJ made for the entrance when he was done, but Cyrus gently grabbed his arm.
"TJ - wait."
The boy pulled his arm out of Cyrus' grip, still not meeting his eye. "What?"
"About last night-"
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"But we have to-"
"It shouldn't have happened, okay?" TJ said harshly.
That was enough to shock Cyrus into silence, which gave TJ the opportunity to zip open the door and step outside.
The brown-haired boy remained there for a moment, disbelief written all over his face.
He finally understood what people meant when they described feeling their heart shatter.
~
"Is something wrong, Cyrus?"
He looked over at the blonde-haired girl with a weak smile. "No, I'm fine."
They were both watching TJ and Mrs.Kippen take down the final tent. Although the storm had eased up overnight, it was still overcast, and the dreary skies were putting an even bigger damper on Cyrus' mood.
"You don't seem fine." Amber said gently, shuffling over the boy.
He sighed heavily. There was something about the soft concern in her voice that made Cyrus feel bad about lying.
"I'm not," he relented, squeezing his eyes shut. "But I can't tell you why because you'll hate me."
He felt Amber wrap an arm around him, and he couldn't help but lean into her.
"It's TJ, isn't it?" she asked quietly.
His eyes flew open at that. "How did you know?" he demanded, before slapping a hand over his mouth.
She just smiled. "He seems way more tense than usual. Even more tense than when you guys had that...other thing."
Cyrus felt a slight pang of guilt as he looked over at the girl. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," she said, smiling slightly. "I know it was complicated."
Silence fell for a moment, and Cyrus found himself leaning his head on Amber's shoulder. The company felt nice, and at that moment he really couldn't care less that he had only spoken to Amber a handful of times.
"We kissed," he blurted suddenly, his eyes becoming misty with tears.
He wasn't sure what he expected Amber to do, but he definitely didn't think she would wrap both arms around him.
"And?"
"And... he said it shouldn't have happened."
Although it seemed to be an effort, Amber managed to put her anger towards TJ aside in favour of trying to comfort the boy leaning against her.
"Boys are dumb," she began gently. "My brother included. He'll come around, I promise."
"...And if he doesn't?" Cyrus asked, his voice small.
"Then I'll kill him."
He smiled slightly at that, looking up at the girl. "Thanks, Amber."
"It's nothing." she told him, returning the smile.
TJ and Mrs.Kippen finished packing up the tent soon after that, and they all helped in loading the car up.
Although the tension within the car was suffocating as they all climbed inside, Cyrus was very grateful that Amber had volunteered to take the middle seat beforehand. This left a respectable distance between him and TJ, and it also meant that Cyrus could lean against Amber for moral support whenever he began thinking too much about the future of his friendship with TJ.
She spent the trip teaching him how to braid hair, and he had never been so grateful for a distraction in his whole life.
They stopped at a petrol station about half-way through the trip, and Cyrus was very grateful that he could escape the tension, even if it was only for a few minutes.
"Stop being such a dumb boy if you're gonna blow it with him. He's a great person and you know that, TJ. You know he doesn't deserve this."
He honestly hadn't meant to overhear their conversation, but he had just left the petrol station bathroom and they were both standing by the chip aisle, their voices raised.
"Stop trying to get involved! You're my sister, not my dating coach-"
"I know I'm not your stupid dating coach, but you're being an idiot! For once can you just...oh."
TJ followed her gaze, and his eyes immediately widened when he saw Cyrus standing there with an apologetic smile. It was only a matter of moments before he was turning around with a huff and storming out of the petrol station.
Amber rolled her eyes and walked over to Cyrus, trying hard to conceal her annoyance.
"I'm sorry." she said gently.
Cyrus just shook his head, engulfing her in a hug. "Don't be."
~
A/N: qUICK REMINDER THAT THIS STORY HAS A HAPPY ENDING SO PUT AWAY THE PITCHFORKS PLEASE
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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...
