Muse.

2

"Cy, What up?" He was greeted by Lewis and pulled into a quick hug. Lewis gave the man's back a rough slap as he smiled. "I didn't think you was gon' come."

"Almost didn't." Cyrus admitted as he was lead through the crowd.

On the way to their table, he snapped a few candid photos of the scene. Lewis didn't hesitate to pose for his friend. He supported Cyrus' hobbies as if they were his own.

"I know that's not who I think it is," Azule's nasally voice made Cyrus crack a grin. Azule was another one of his close friends.

Azule stood up from the table and pulled Cyrus into a tight hug. Instead of wearing something simple like his friends, Azule wore a royal blue feathered top and matching leather pants. His hair was freshly curled and oiled; the man looked stunning.

"Look at you!" Cyrus spun the man around with his free hand. Azule twirled with a smirk growing on his face. "I love it, Azzy." He complimented his friend. "And happy belated too; sorry I got swamped last week." He lied. Truthfully, Cyrus was too holed up in the studio to celebrate with his friends.

"Thanks," He smiled, deciding against mentioning Cyrus' absence on the day of his dinner party. "I might've lived a quarter but trust me, I'm still a dime."

"You a trip." Lewis chuckled before sitting down.

"You love it." Azule blew a kiss at the man. Lewis and Azule had a peculiar friendship and sometimes Cyrus grew a little jealous at it. They were obviously closer and Cyrus couldn't blame anyone but himself; he was always so distant. "What's new?" Azule asked as Cyrus awkwardly clicked through the photos in his camera.

"Not much," He cleared his throat. "I recently decided that I'm...taking a break from...art." He wanted to melt into a puddle at what he'd confessed. Finally saying it aloud made him feel worse.

"What?" His excitable friend gasped. "The one thing that sparks life within you?" Lewis nudged Azule, signaling him to lay off a little.

"Yeah," Cyrus exhaled. "It's not making me a lot of money right now and it's just not fun anymore." He confessed.

"Well...nothing wrong with a new chapter." Lewis reassured him. Cyrus wasn't so sure.

As time passed, Cyrus watched his friends and siblings mingle with all of their old friends. This was just like high school; he would watch as everyone around him enjoyed themselves at big gatherings like this. Cyrus had been a wallflower since birth. Even his parents recalled him as a shy and anxious child unlike his three rowdy siblings who were sometimes too wild to tame.

Ryker and Selah made a name for the Abara clan; a name that Cyrus struggled to keep up with throughout the years. He would watch as his associates raised their eyebrows and pulled their lips into a confused grin. Ryker's your brother?, they would laugh. No way you're Selah's brother. His siblings were avoidant at school; they would brush past him like he was a stranger ambling through the hallways then suddenly remember that he was in fact their brother when they arrived home. It wasn't a secret that Cyrus embarrassed them.

Yes, that's my brother who's stumbling in the hallway with an armful of posters. Yes. That's my brother, Cyrus, who refuses to sit in the cafeteria because of the amount of people inside.

He could imagine how ashamed the popular students were when it came to his 'nerdy antics' as Ryker called it. He knew the truth lied beneath the surface of his siblings' jokes. This behavior continued until present day; Despite the initial excitement of seeing them, they would travel back home and resume their bimonthly Facetimes and overly-honeyed birthday messages for Instagram after weeks of no contact.