A/N: So uh...I made a moodboard for this fic bc why not:
Anyway! Here's the chapter:
"He said he wasn't going to!" Buffy huffed.
"He probably just doesn't have anyone else to sit with." Cyrus responded flatly.
"Or maybe he's just untrustworthy!"
Cyrus sighed. It was Friday, and TJ was sitting with his usual group of friends at the cafeteria. This had sparked a rant from Buffy that even Marty couldn't stop.
"Honestly, it's like he wants me to have a grudge against him. You can't just promise something like that only to-" she abruptly stopped talking then, looking across at TJ's table in disbelief.
Cyrus followed her gaze, and a very similar expression appeared on his face.
TJ was standing up and gathering his things.
They all watched as the athlete walked over to their table, smiling timidly.
As he walked, Cyrus couldn't help but notice that there was one boy from Isaac's table who looked after him wistfully, clear conflict written all over his face.
Was he also considering it? Or was he sad to see TJ go? Either option was surprising to say the least.
"Hey," TJ greeted, pulling him away from his thoughts. "Can I sit here?"
Everyone except Cyrus looked to Buffy, who was shaking her head in disbelief.
Cyrus was looking at TJ now, a soft smile on his lips as he gave the boy a small wave. TJ returned the smile - and the wave.
Buffy watched the interaction, and after a few moments she let out a defeated sigh. "Yeah. You can sit with us."
Cyrus immediately brightened at that, shuffling towards Marty to make room for TJ. The boy sat down with a grateful smile, looking nervously down at the table.
No one spoke for a few moments. Cyrus didn't think he had ever encountered such an uncomfortable silence.
"Um," he began, clearing his throat. "So...this is TJ, as you all know. TJ, this is Andi, Jonah and Marty. You uh...already know Buffy."
TJ turned to Marty, an eyebrow lifted in question. "Hey - don't we have a few classes together?"
Marty shot Buffy an amazed look, before turning to the boy with a nod. "Yeah! We do."
The conversation shifted from there and although TJ remained silent through most of it, Cyrus considered it a win that his friends were willing to be so casual around the boy.
Eventually (as per usual), Andi began talking about Amber.
"It's just...she has so many friends and I feel like I'm just another one of them. How do I skip to the part where we're close? Should I just message her - which I can do now by the way because she gave me her number - asking if she wants to hang out? Also, have you guys seen the cute dress she's wearing today?"
TJ lifted an amused eyebrow at that, and leant over towards Cyrus. "Does she always do this?" he whispered.
Cyrus laughed slightly. "Pretty much."
"And...everyone's okay with her liking a girl?"
"Yeah. Why?"
TJ's smile softened. "No reason. It's just...nice."
Cyrus thought back to the numerous times he had heard Isaac or one of his cronies refer to people as 'fag', and realised with a pang that TJ probably wasn't used to an accepting environment.
Suddenly, he felt a whole lot more protective of the boy.
~
The last week of school was a blur of late nights, coffee and stress.
TJ continued to sit with Cyrus and his friends at lunch, and everyone gradually warmed up to him as the days passed.
Andi in particular was quick to realise how much her and TJ had in common, with shared interests like art, dirt-biking, thrift-shopping and vinyl collecting. Cyrus had even found her by TJ's locker after school, asking him about craft supply store recommendations. No one in their group was particularly crafty apart from Andi, so Cyrus couldn't blame her for the enthusiasm.
Buffy took a few more days to come around than the others, but eventually she also warmed to TJ (particularly after beating him in a one-on-one basketball match.)
Buffy and Andi were both mysteriously back to being friends, which Cyrus assumed was because they had resolved their dispute (as usual.)
His late night texting conversations with TJ helped him clear his mind when he wasn't studying, and eventually they had fallen into a routine.
On Thursday night in particular, Cyrus was having a crisis over his upcoming Biology test.
TJ: Dude, when I tested u today u were pretty much a walking dictionary
TJ: You'll be fine. Pinky promise.
Cyrus: Urghh but I might know the wrong stuff!!!
Cyrus: A virtual pinky promise?
TJ: Even if there are a few little things u don't know, that's fine! It seriously won't matter that much. You've done everything u can
TJ: Well, I could make it a real pinky promise if u came down here
Cyrus laughed softly at that, moving across the room to open his curtains. Sure enough - TJ was down there, looking back up at him with a smile. Two bright lanterns were set on the ground beside his chalk box.
Cyrus: IT'S 10PM
TJ: And?
Cyrus: ...
Cyrus: I'll be down in a second
After throwing on a hoodie and promising his dad that he wouldn't go anywhere but TJ's driveway, Cyrus was on his way.
"Hey, Cy!"
For some reason, that nickname still made his heart leap.
"Hey! How's it going down here?"
"Not bad. How was it going up there in your castle?" TJ teased.
Cyrus sat down on the concrete with a sigh, giving the boy a half-hearted smile. "Bad."
"Okay...well, you're not in the castle anymore. You're in a forest. Where your responsibilities don't matter."
Cyrus raised an amused eyebrow at that. "Where are all the trees?"
TJ sifted through his chalk box for a moment, before pulling out a dark green. "You have to draw them - duh."
"Can I leave the animals to you?" he asked, accepting the chalk with a small smile.
"Yup. Just tell me which ones and I'll look up some references."
"Hmm...can you do a green iguana?"
TJ chuckled, and began typing something into his phone. "I should've known," he teased. "The gaboon viper too, I'm guessing?
Cyrus ducked his head at that, an embarrassed smile on his lips as he began to busy himself with drawing trees. "Yeah."
And really - talking to TJ shouldn't have made him forget about his Biology test so easily, but it did, and he was thankful.
"Do you still want that pinky promise, by the way?"
"I forgot about that," Cyrus admitted. "But...I think I'm good now."
~
It was their last day, and the teachers had all let their students out early on the condition that they stayed on school grounds until the bell.
The corridors were absolute chaos, with kids jumping around, loudly announcing their holiday plans to anyone that would listen and murmuring excitedly amongst themselves.
Cyrus didn't dare move from his locker - his small frame would definitely end up being swept away by a crowd if he did - so he opted to stand around tapping away at his phone.
He thought at first that he had imagined TJ's voice amongst the array of other noises, but when he looked up the boy was standing right in front of him.
"I found you!"
Cyrus laughed at that, pocketing his phone and taking a small step forward. "You found me!" he confirmed teasingly.
TJ smiled. "I uh...wanted to tell you something."
Cyrus' eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Like what?"
"It's kind of sappy."
"Sappy's fine." He assured.
"Okay...well I guess I just wanted to say thanks. For being so nice to me. And hanging out with me. You had no reason to, but you were anyway..."
Cyrus didn't say anything for a moment. Then, he was flinging his arms around the boy and pulling him into a tight hug. TJ stilled with shock for a few seconds, before wrapping his arms around him with a fond smile.
Cyrus could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest when they finally pulled away. He rationalised that it was from the excitement of summer vacation, rather than...yeah, he wasn't going there.