A/N: I have nothing to say for myself. Here's the chapter!
~
It had taken Andi a solid few seconds of wide-eyed staring for her to produce something coherent when Cyrus told her later that night exactly what had happened. Buffy on the other hand, looked relieved more than anything.
"Cyrus you have no idea how excruciating this whole thing with TJ has been to watch," she had said with a smile on her face that told Cyrus she was secretly just as happy as Andi seemed to be at that moment, "I'm just glad you finally kissed and made up...literally.""
Now there they were on a lazy Sunday afternoon, lounging about on Cyrus' couch and basking in the sun that was pouring through the window. Andi was braiding Buffy's hair, one earphone in as she did so, and Buffy appeared to be texting someone. ( Marty if the smile on her face was anything to go by, Cyrus couldn't help but muse.)
TJ had a casual arm thrown around Cyrus' shoulders as he recounted a story about Amber and him accidentally stealing a snickers bar from the store when he was 6, and Cyrus was more than happy to just listen. After having spent the past few weekends stressing out over his feelings for TJ, it felt nice to be this close to him now - close enough to count the faint freckles that dotted his face.
"We had no concept of money whatsoever by the way, so please don't tell the cops on us. Actually - can six years get arrested? Do they even have handcuffs that small?"
Cyrus snorted at that. "No, TJ. I don't think 6-year-olds can get arrested," he deadpanned, laughing as he narrowly dodged TJ's swat at him.
Buffy glanced up from her phone for a moment, shaking her head in exasperated amusement before returning to it again.
Everything felt right.
Until it didn't.
His phone, which had been sitting discarded on his lap, suddenly lit up with a text message from Dylan. Cyrus wanted to do a lot of things - burst into tears, punch something despite being the most passive person on the planet, throw his phone across the room, but what he ended up doing was staring down at the messages with an expression of horror.
Dylan: Come on, Cy
Dylan: Can't we talk about this?
It was almost embarrassing how quickly he lost it, muttering a quiet "fuck" under his breath and shoving his phone forcefully into his pocket.
Andi was looking over now with concern written all over her face, clearly having an idea of what was going on.
"Who was that?" TJ asked, confused more than anything. Cyrus could barely bring himself to make eye contact, but he knew the boy was probably looking at him too now.
Buffy glanced up at Andi then, who had stopped braiding her hair, before following her line of sight to Cyrus. Cyrus could see the gears in her head turning, and the thought only added to the uneasy pit in his stomach. He knew he'd have to tell TJ about Dylan eventually, but a day after their first kiss just didn't seem like the right time.
TJ was one of the kindest people he knew, but for some reason, Cyrus didn't think he'd take too kindly to someone who had indirectly caused the whole mess between them.
It was delayed and a little bit unconvincing, but Cyrus managed to get out a hurried "no one!" after a few moments, which only served to deepen the frown on TJ's face.
"Okay," he trailed off, eyebrows furrowed slightly as he removed his arm from Cyrus' shoulders. "Then what's wrong?"
Cyrus looked desperately to where Buffy and Andi were sat. Buffy was giving him a pointed look that pretty much screamed 'tell him!' while Andi had a sympathetic smile on her face that seemed more like a 'tell him if you want to.' He let out a heavy sigh before turning his gaze to TJ again
"He's my ex."
TJ looked visibly taken aback. "Then why's he texting you?"
Cyrus averted his gaze to his lap at that, his throat feeling tight all of a sudden. Dylan was never a pleasant thought in general, but the idea of telling TJ about him seemed so daunting. How could he possibly communicate what Dylan had managed to do over the past few weeks? 'Hey sorry for not telling you earlier but I have an annoying, slightly crazy ex who manipulates people for fun and won't stop trying to contact me. Hope that's not a dealbreaker!'
He almost shuddered at the thought.
"Um, well the thing is..." he trailed off immediately and looked to Andi and Buffy for help. Buffy sighed and shuffled around to face them, hair half braided.
"He's not just any ex," said Andi as she settled down next to Buffy. "He's..."
"Your annoying, controlling, manipulative asshole of an ex," Buffy finished firmly.
TJ's face hardened. He looked angry now, and Cyrus almost began to panic because he knew that was what would happen.
"What's he been saying?" he asked, eyes surprisingly soft as he looked at Cyrus.
Cyrus exchanged another glance with Andi and Buffy, letting out a shaky exhale. His heart was racing now in anticipation, although he exactly didn't know what for. Surprisingly enough, both Buffy and Andi seemed to be at a loss of what to say.
TJ glanced around at all of them, shaking his head. "Someone needs to say something before I break into this guy's house and have a talk with him," he said, and although the thought was touching Cyrus would rather TJ didn't end up in jail anytime soon.
"Let's talk somewhere else, okay?" he responded, standing up from the couch and smiling slightly when TJ followed suit without question.
"We'll be right back," he whispered to Buffy, who gave him that same pointed look and nodded.
As soon as they entered his room, golden sunlight streaming through his parted curtains and a light breeze filtering in through the ajar window, Cyrus collapsed down onto the bed and reached out to grab a pillow. TJ remained hovering by the doorway, looking both amused and puzzled.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting comfortable," Cyrus responded with a smile, patting the space beside him. "This is gonna take a while."
TJ nodded and walked over, laying down on the bed beside Cyrus and propping his head up on his hands.
Cyrus couldn't help but smile, leaning over to press a kiss to the boy's cheek. TJ smiled back despite himself, laying down flat on the bed and pulling Cyrus in.
"Okay," he began, voice soft. "So basically...a year ago, there was this boy."
And that was how Cyrus ended up telling someone about Dylan for the third time that month. It had become easier somehow with each time, but he still had to pause occasionally and take a moment to remind himself that he was in the present now, laying with TJ as the boy ran a soothing hand through his hair.
After he had finished there was silence for a few long moments. He kept his head on TJ's chest as it slowly rose and fell, waiting for some sort of response.
"I mean, I wanna kill him obviously," TJ began, and Cyrus couldn't help but smile, "but mostly I just hate the idea of you having to go through all that. No one deserves it, especially not you."
Cyrus' smile took a sad edge. He could feel his throat tightening again for some reason, and he couldn't bring himself to look up at TJ.
"It's okay," he managed after a moment, voice wavering slightly.
"It's not," said TJ, voice soft but firm somehow.
Cyrus couldn't argue. Silence fell again, and he found himself snuggling into the fabric of TJ's sweater.
"I'm sorry for being an asshole to you while you had that going on," TJ continued, his hand pausing in its actions.
Cyrus just shook his head though, shuffling further up the bed and resting his head on TJ's shoulder instead. "You didn't know. Besides, I was being an asshole too."
"But-"
"Dylan doesn't excuse it," Cyrus said firmly.
TJ didn't say anything in response. He just pulled the boy in closer and pressed a kiss to his hair. They remained like that for a few minutes, the warm sunlight making Cyrus' eyelids feel slightly heavy.
"Cyrus?" TJ mumbled.
"Yeah?"
"Just so you know, we can take things at your pace, okay? If it ever gets too much, you don't have to be scared to tell me. I don't wanna pressure you to do anything."
He hesitated for a moment after that, looking down at Cyrus. "I'm not Dylan, I promise."
And Cyrus really didn't think it was fair for TJ to be so damn nice about everything because at that moment he almost felt like crying with how relieved he felt.
He settled on just shaking his head, climbing onto TJ's lap and leaning down to kiss them. TJ smiled slightly, slowly sitting up without disconnecting their lips and wrapping his arms on Cyrus' waist, pulling him in closer. Cyrus looped his arms around the boy's neck, drawing back for a moment.
"Thank you," he whispered, admiring the way TJ looked at that moment, bathed in sunlight.
TJ smiled. "No problem."
They both looked at one another for a moment.
"I just realised we totally left Buffy and Andi out there," the boy said.
Cyrus gasped and clambered off TJ's lap then, getting up and heading over to the door.
"We have to go back to them or they'll think we died in here!" he exclaimed, and TJ gracefully followed suit with a fond smile.
"After you Kippen," Cyrus teased, to which TJ gave an amused huff as he left the room.
"Such a gentleman."
Seeing TJ look back at him then, eyes crinkling with a smile, Cyrus' heart flipped.
TJ wasn't anything like Dylan - and he never would be.
~
Cyrus had nothing whatsoever against maths, apart from the fact that it was a bit boring, but he had come to the conclusion a long time ago that double maths on a Monday afternoon had to be one of most agonising things in existence. When he turned the corridor to his locker at the end of the day he was beyond exhausted, blinking slowly as he walked beside Buffy.
"Hey, do you remember what he said at the end of class-" Cyrus abruptly stopped talking, disbelief all over his face as he came to a halt.
Buffy raised an amused eyebrow at that, following Cyrus' gaze. She laughed slightly when her eyes landed on TJ, who was standing casually in front of Cyrus' locker.
"So you have a boyfriend who picks you up after school now?" she asked him, and Cyrus just gave her a playful swat.
"You're just jealous."
"Not at all," came the deadpanned response.
Cyrus couldn't help but scoff. "Really? So you definitely wouldn't want Marty picking y-"
"Would you look at the time! I have basketball practise. See you, Cyrus," Buffy waved as she turned in walk in the opposite direction, headed towards the girls' locker area.
Cyrus just shook his head, a knowing smile on his lips as he approached TJ. TJ who just so happened to be wearing glasses. And wearing his hair down. And wearing a cute oversized sweater.
He could practically feel himself swooning as he greeted the boy, so preoccupied that he failed to open his locker about three times.
"We had a student free day so I thought I'd come pick you up," he explained, one hand pressed up against the locker next to Cyrus.
"Does this mean we're getting iced coffee?" he asked hopefully, to which TJ just gave him an amused smile.
"I guess we can feed your iced coffee addiction, yeah."
"Hey! I can stop anytime I want to!"
TJ laughed slightly at that, which Cyrus had smiling again in an instant.
It was another clear blue day, with light winds and beaming sunlight. Cyrus was convinced that just seeing TJ laugh was always about a hundred per cent certain to improve his day drastically. Seeing him in glasses was almost too much for his heart.
His smile faded though the moment he looked past TJ's shoulder, smoothing out almost immediately into an expression of shock.
Fucking Dylan, he thought to himself as he watched the boy laugh obnoxiously loud and pull his friends in for bro-hugs.
Was this guy just hellbent on ruining his life?
TJ noticed his distraction almost right away, not aiming for subtly at all as he spun around and looked to the place Cyrus seemed to be fixated on.
Confusion flickered across the boy's face, before giving way to realisation.
"Oh my god - is that...?"
Cyrus quickly looked away, hurriedly stuffing his books into his bag. He could not deal with this right now.
"Should I-"
"Let's just go, please?" Cyrus begged, to which TJ gave a quick nod, glancing briefly back over his shoulder. He looked for a moment as though he was torn between going over to Dylan and comforting Cyrus, but the latter obviously seemed to win out because he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, expression soft.
"I'm here, okay? He can't try anything."
Cyrus just shook his head though, feeling panic already begin to course through him as he pulled his bag out of his locker. Dylan has noticed them by now, and the delighted smile that came to his lips made Cyrus' stomach drop.
"So you are the replacement then, I'm guessing?" he called as he began to make his way over.
TJ whirled around, clearly fuming, and Cyrus stepped forward to rest a placating hand on the boy's shoulder. His look of annoyance quickly morphed into one of concern.
TJ looked between Dylan and Cyrus, gaze practically burning, before taking a step back.
"I'm not anything. Let's go, Cy."
Cyrus was shocked for a moment by TJ's maturity, but he shook it off and turned around to follow the boy towards the doors. He had always pinned TJ down as someone who was nice but had no problem with exploding when necessary, and right now he seemed to be backing down.
Cyrus had to resist the sudden urge to reach out and take his hand as they walked away.
For a fleeting moment, he thought that'd be it from Dylan. He really should've known better, because Dylan was hardly ever one to give up when he wanted something.
"Well you clearly have a type, Cy !"
Cyrus' heart stopped. TJ turned around again, slower this time, and he found himself begrudgingly following suit. One glance over at TJ's face confirmed he was fuming all over again, and suddenly nervousness was bubbling up inside of him.
"Listen to me," TJ said, voice low. "Just because you're confident in yourself now doesn't mean you can..."
He glanced looked over at Cyrus, eyes sad, but Cyrus' gaze was on all the students that were listening in now. They weren't crowded around them by any means, but they certainly weren't moving from their spots either, subtly looking up once in a while.
Dylan just smirked. "Doesn't mean I can what?"
TJ's anger quickly turned to worry again. He looked back at Dylan, pressing his lips together and shaking his head. Cyrus couldn't bring himself to speak.
"Don't do this," TJ said, and despite his voice still being low, there was a seeming element of begging there now. Cyrus' eyebrows furrowed.
Why would he be begging? Did he know something Cyrus didn't?
Silence. Then-
"Do what?" Dylan asked cockily, taking a confident step forward. "Tell the whole school that Cyrus Goodman is gay?"
And suddenly the world was collapsing around him.
You're fine, don't panic. You're fine, don't panic.
He could hear TJ yelling something at Dylan, but he couldn't concentrate on that when it felt like there was suddenly no air in his lungs. He dumped his bag on the floor and whirled around, fast-walking to the closest bathroom he could see, trying to take deep breaths, his heart racing.
In.
He stumblingly made his way over to the wall.
Out.
He slid down against it, hitting the floor with a soft thud.
In.
He brought his knees up to his chest.
Out.
He buried his face in his hands.
"Cyrus?"
The door was pushed open and the lights were flicked on. Cyrus' vision was blurred slightly by tears as he looked up. TJ approached hesitantly, crouching down and placing a hand on his arm.
"Breathe for me, okay Cy? You're gonna be fine. This doesn't last, remember?"
Cyrus tried to nod, hands shaking as he brought them up to roughly wipe the tears from his face. TJ reached out and gently pulled his hand away, placing his own there instead.
He was still heaving in breaths, trying to calm his racing heart but failing miserably apparently, because somehow he felt more panicked. The small bathroom felt suffocating, and the walls were closing in further with each second.
"Cyrus, do you wanna go outside?" asked TJ, carefully wiping away another tear.
The boy could only manage a nod, so TJ helped him up and began leading him out. They crossed the corridor, pointedly ignoring the people that were still lingering there, before exiting the building and settling down on a nearby bench.
The sun was still beaming down on them as they sat there, TJ's hand around Cyrus' shoulders. It took a few minutes, and some murmured words of comfort, but eventually, his heaving breathes turned into more steady ones, and his heart rate wasn't soaring anymore.
He rested his head on TJ's shoulder. "They know now."
He felt TJ nod. "I'm so sorry, Cy."
"It's okay. I just...wasn't expecting it today."
TJ pulled him in closer, running a soothing hand up and down the boy's arm.
"It should've been on your terms."
Cyrus just nodded, feeling a wave of exhaustion hit him. They remained like that for a few moments, TJ pressing the occasional kiss to Cyrus' head, when suddenly the double doors were thrown open.
Cyrus jumped slightly, eyes wide, but when he saw who it was he relaxed into TJ's side again.
Buffy and Andi walked out in a fit of giggles, with Andi in particular practically collapsed into Buffy's side with laughter.
Cyrus sat upright then, exchanging a bewildered look with TJ.
"Guys you will not believe what just happened!" announced Buffy as they approached, stopping in front of them.
TJ looked up at in slight confusion, an amused smile playing at his lips. "What happened?"
"Andi slapped Dylan across the face!"
Cyrus nearly choked at that, looking between Buffy and Andi as he waited for some kind of confirmation because what the actual fuck.
"I guess I did, didn't I?" said Andi after a moment, arms folded across her chest in pride.
TJ snorted before bursting into laughter, getting up from his seat and offering a high-five to the girl. Andi high-fived him with a laugh.
Cyrus was still looking between them, a shocked smile on his face. "Oh my god, Andi!" he exclaimed after a moment, his smile widening. "You're a queen!"
When all of their laughter had finally faded, Andi sat down next to Cyrus on the bench and wrapped her arms around him, seeming serious now.
"So what are you gonna do, Cyrus?" she asked quietly.
Buffy's smile faded too as she sat down on his other side, resting her head on his shoulder.
He hesitated before responding.
"Well...it's not the way I wanted to come out at all but...I can't exactly change that now. I'm just glad I have you guys, and Mr.Smiley over there," he said, nodding his head towards TJ.
TJ laughed. "Sorry. I'm imagining Dylan getting slapped across the face by Andi. Please continue."
Cyrus couldn't help but smile.
He really was lucky.
~
"Cyrus Goodman, how dare you not tell me about your romantic as hell kiss in the rain with TJ! Was I supposed to just find out through Buffy or what?! You and TJ have both let me down."
Cyrus couldn't help but laugh as he approached the booth Marty was sitting at, settling down in the seat opposite him.
It was Saturday now, and although the skies were dreary again after a week of sunshine, nothing could really dampen his mood. There was rain beginning to patter against the window next to them as varying people with large coats and umbrellas walked by. There was a yellow lamp above their table, bathing it in warm light.
"I'm sorry - I thought TJ would've told you!"
"Nope," said Marty, shaking his head. "Not a word. How dare he do this to me."
Cyrus just laughed again. "Okay - well in compensation you can ask me whatever you want now."
Marty grinned. "Okay. First of all - was it like pouring rain or light rain? And did he really say 'Hey - you like dramatic rain kisses, right?' or was that a cheesy thing Buffy made up to make me freak out even more?"
Cyrus could feel a blush rising on his face now for some reason. "Light rain at first but it was definitely pouring at the end. Also yes - TJ did say that," he responded.
"He did? Damn, sometimes I forget what a dork he is. Also - by the end? How long were you two kissing?"
Cyrus bit his lip, smiling slightly as he leaned back in his chair. "Well uh...it definitely wasn't a peck, that's for sure."
Marty practically gasped. "Seriously - how was TJ not dying to tell me this? He literally freaked out the first time your hands brushed while you were walking."
Cyrus giggled slightly at that. "I don't even remember when that was."
"Ask him - if he says he doesn't know then he's a liar," Marty smiled.
Their drinks were set down on the table then, and Cyrus gave the waiter a grateful smile.
He took a small sip before directing his gaze back to Marty. "So what's been going on with you?"
Marty hesitated for a moment before responding. "Well..." he took a deep breath, "I told Buffy about Liam."
Cyrus winced slightly at the mere mention of Liam. "How'd she take that?"
A small smile came to Marty's lips. "How you'd expect Buffy to take it. She asked me if she could speak to my school principal and I agreed...now Liam's been kicked off the dance team and suspended from all his other teams, too."
"Seriously? Wow, I love her," said Cyrus with a laugh.
Marty smiled fondly. "Me too. I have no idea what kind of power she has though, because the principal didn't do shit when I talked to him."
Cyrus nodded. "He should've. But I'm glad they did at least something after some prodding."
Silence fell for a moment. Marty began nervously fidgeting with his hands on the table.
"I really like her," he blurted suddenly, which had Cyrus looking up again in alarm. Sure - he had sort of known, but he hadn't been expecting an outright confession from the boy.
Cyrus smiled. He thought back to their day at TJ's dance studio, about how Buffy seemed to light up completely around Marty and how much she seemed to play with her hair.
"She likes you too, trust me," he said, "I've never seen her smile so much texting someone as she does with you."
Marty still looked slightly hesitant. "You think so?"
Cyrus reached over and placed a hand on top of his. "I know so," he confirmed, pausing for a moment before adding "she likes ice skating, by the way."
Marty was blushing slightly now. "Are you suggesting that I should take her on an ice skating date?"
"Yup!"
The boy just groaned though, burying his face in his hands with a muffled "I don't know how to ask that."
Cyrus laughed. "It's easy, trust me! I'll even demonstrate," he said, sitting upright in his seat and leaning forward.
"Hey, Buffy! Wanna go ice-skating sometime, just the two of us?"
Marty lifted his head from his hands, smiling slightly. "That sounds painful."
"Well, if talking out loud isn't your thing, then..." he paused for a moment and produced a pen from his coat pocket along with an old receipt.
Dear Buffy,
Wanna go on an ice skating date with me sometime?
• Yes
• No
(Circle your answer)
Love,
Marty
He slid the receipt over to Marty, who read over it with a laugh.
"I'll think about it," he settled on saying, smiling as he took another sip of his drink.
"Hey - if the confession thing doesn't work out then you could always just kiss her in the rain!" Cyrus added, smiling when Marty laughed again.