~
"Well, well, well. If it isn't captain of the boys' basketball team! Tell me - how did last week's game go?"
Cyrus really wished he could've chosen that moment to disappear. Unfortunately, though - he couldn't, so he was forced to stand timidly next to Buffy as she addressed TJ.
She usually wouldn't have initiated something like this, but the boys' basketball team had lost their first game in an undefeated season and Cyrus supposed that she probably couldn't help herself. She had also been insisting recently that TJ was ignoring her on purpose to wind her up, so it provided her with a perfect opportunity to re-spark the feud between them.
"I'm not interested, Driscoll."
Well that was a shock. So much so that even Buffy lost the smug look on her face for a few moments.
The boy began to walk away then, but Isaac roughly tugged him back. "Bro - what are you doing?" he hissed.
TJ just pulled his arm out of Isaac's grip, ignoring him completely in favour of turning his gaze towards Cyrus. The ghost of a smile flickered across his lips, and the shorter boy gave him a very tiny nod. So tiny in fact, that he wondered if TJ had even caught it.
He tried not to think about the fact that less than 24 hours ago he had been drawing with this guy.
"I'm not in the mood to argue," he said flatly, shifting his gaze towards Buffy. "The only thing I will say though is that your team hasn't exactly had an undefeated season, have they?"
Cyrus' eyes widened at that.
"Neither have yours!" she countered. "Now that you've lost, you can't exactly call your season undefeated. Besides - two losses isn't even that significant!"
An amused smile came to TJ's lips, and he raised his arms in surrender. "You make a fair point, Driscoll."
Cyrus couldn't help but think that he was trying to make his jabs almost playful.
Was he just seeing what he wanted to see right now, or was TJ attempting to make banter rather than argue?
"Look - this has been fun and all, but I should head off. I'll see you around, yeah?"
With that, he turned on his heel and walked away in the opposite direction, leaving his friends in shocked silence.
"Yeah - well - get some better shirts while you're at it!" Buffy called after him, her voice slightly uncertain.
Cyrus couldn't help but laugh as they headed to class, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I love you, but that wasn't your wittiest remark."
"Shut up." she responded playfully.
~
There were a lot of things that Cyrus found unfair in the world, and TJ Kippen's ability to give heart-melting smiles was rapidly becoming one of them.
Although he tried to keep his glances to a minimum at school over the next few days, he somehow managed to constantly catch the boy's eye in corridors, or outside of classes, or from across the cafeteria.
It had been so much easier before; TJ barely spared him a glance, and he most certainly didn't smile at Cyrus whenever they caught each other's eye. Now the opposite was true, and without seeming dramatic, it was kind of ruining his life.
TJ was able to go from loud and arrogant to soft and hesitant within the span of two seconds, and Cyrus was honestly getting whiplash from trying to keep up with it.
"Cyrus, have you been day-dreaming constantly for the past few days? I feel like I'm always trying to get your attention."
He pried his eyes away from TJ and turned back to Andi, giving her a guilty smile.
"I'm so sorry, I've just been...distracted. What were you saying?"
"I was saying that Amber is my project partner for art!"
"She's your what?" Marty exclaimed, turning to the pair.
"I know! And the project lasts an entire term!"
"Andi, you have to ask her out." Cyrus begged.
"Yeah," Marty agreed. "If I have to deal with your pining all term, I might explode."
"You guys know I can't do that." she complained.
Marty just scoffed, tearing off a piece of his muffin and handing it to Cyrus. "Why not? You're pan, she's gay, you're both single and you both like art! Boom. Perfect couple."
Cyrus accepted the muffin piece with a thankful smile, nodding eagerly in agreement.
The girl rolled her eyes at the pair as Buffy and Jonah both joined them, sitting down in their usual spots. Buffy looked downright furious, and Cyrus couldn't help but send Andi a worried glance.
"You guys won't believe what TJ just did."
Cyrus paled slightly at that. "...Why? What did he do?"
"He smiled at me!"
The concern on everyone's face melted away at that. Cyrus let out a small sigh of relief.
"Buffy," Marty began gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Why is that bad?"
"Because he was obviously mocking me!"
"How do you know that?"
Some of the girl's outrage gave way to uncertainty. "I don't know...why else would he smile at me?"
"Buffy, I hate to break it to you, but smiling is generally considered a pretty nice gesture." Andi said.
"Yeah," Jonah agreed. "Maybe he was actually just smiling at you."
She sighed in defeat and nodded. "Fine. He's still a jerk though."
Marty shrugged. "I can agree with that."
~
When Cyrus went to collect his books for last period, he realised that TJ was standing in front of his locker.
He scanned the seas of people crowding the corridor for either Buffy or Andi, and when he was satisfied that they definitely weren't around, he approached the boy with a playful smile.
"Hey."
"Hey! What's up?"
"Well...you're kind of in front of my locker."
TJ laughed. "Right, sorry - I'll move."
He stepped aside with an amused smile, allowing Cyrus to unlock his locker and collect his things.
"So...what do you have now?" the boy asked him.
"Photography. What about you?"
"I have History."
Cyrus' eyes flicked down to the books TJ was carrying, and he couldn't help but notice the test at the top of his pile.
"Hey - you got an A! Nice job."
TJ's face immediately reddened at that. He hastily slipped his test back into his history book, giving Cyrus an embarrassed smile. "Thanks! I uh...like history."
Cyrus was going to respond then, but Isaac chose that unfortunate moment to waltz up to TJ with a lazy smirk.
"Hey Kippen," he greeted, clapping the boy on the back. "Who's this?"
Cyrus wasn't sure what he expected TJ to do, but he definitely didn't expect the athlete to introduce him with a proud smile.
"This is Cyrus." he told Isaac.
The shorter boy gave a hesitant wave. Isaac observed him coldly for a moment, that same smirk still tugging at his lips. "Hi, Cyrus."
He opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted (or - saved, really) by the bell. He tried to muster up the sincerest smile he could.
"Sorry - I have to go now, but it was really nice meeting you!"
He took off down the corridor then, trying hard not to feel guilty about leaving TJ with Isaac.
~
Cyrus waited with Buffy and Marty at their bus stop after school (with an umbrella to avoid the sun of course), which resulted in him arriving home later than he usually would.
As he walked passed TJ's driveway, he casually glanced around for all of their drawings, only to be met with a group of the athlete's friends.
They weren't facing him, but Cyrus could already tell what they were all sniggering about. The thought made him want to yell at something.
Again? Really? They couldn't mind their own business?
His stomach dropped when TJ stepped out of the back-door, an exhausted look on his face as he observed the group.
"Your sister and her friends drew more of this shit, Kippen?"
The athlete walked over with a sigh. "Yeah, they really love-" he stopped dead in his tracks the moment his eyes met Cyrus'.
The pair looked at one another for a few long moments, and when TJ finally turned back to the boys he seemed determined. Cyrus held his breath.
"Actually - you know what? Those aren't Amber's. Or her friend's. They're mine, and so were all of the other ones. But even if they were hers, why is that any of your business?"
Cyrus released the breath he was holding, a small smile settling on his lips at the group's gobsmacked silence.
"Now if you all don't mind, I have a shit tonne of homework to get through, so I'm going back inside. I'll see you tomorrow."
With that, TJ stormed back over to the back door, slamming it shut behind him.
Isaac turned around then, and his grey eyes briefly locked with Cyrus'. The shorter boy gave him a smile, before rushing away to his front door.
~