"can you believe school is so close?" cyrus groaned as he flopped back-first onto tj's bed.
"i don't wanna think about it," the blond sighed, smiling slightly as cyrus tilted his head back into the bed to look up at him.
cyrus crawled up the covers and laid his head in the crook of tj's neck, letting small, soft breaths go as he let tj pull him closer; tj could barely handle how cuddly cyrus was. his brain felt like it was melting- and so did his stomach- as cyrus clung onto his t-shirt.
"do you think kids at school already know?" he mumbled, eyebrows furrowing in thought.
the question caught him off guard, but tj answered confidently, "they might. but i'm not worried."
"i am," cyrus winced, "i don't want a repeat of eighth grade, teej."
"everyone is older now, babe. they're not that dumb. and i won't let anyone come near you, i promise," tj grabbed cyrus' hand and squeezed it reassuringly. he knew that was a comforting gesture for the boy, because that little look cyrus always gets when he finally relaxes was starting to settle behind his glossy eyes.
"i hope reed leaves us alone."
tj froze for a moment, remembering the text messages from two weeks ago.
everything's been so perfect since then. cyrus is perfect. summer is perfect. he even managed to forget about the simple threat that caused him to lose sleep for three nights.
tj can't let reed get into his head.
not again.
"he will. and if he doesn't," tj spoke back up, trying to steady his cracking tone, "you know... boom! right in the jaw!" tj began to swing hard uppercuts into the stuffy air of his bedroom, drawing a loud giggle from the boy who grabbed his hand and shook his head in return.
"no fighting!" cyrus chuckled sweetly, unclenching tj's fist and beginning to play with his fingers.
as he sat there in the soft evening light, tj saw him so clearly. the brown hair that had a dull shine, the few freckles dotting his milky-white complexion like constellations in the night sky, those playful eyes dancing with some kind of content sparkle.
he makes him so happy.
nothing, not even reed could ruin cyrus for tj.
no one could ever come close, tj decided.
"y-you- um, you're staring," cyrus stumbled looking shyly towards tj's foresty eyes and returning his attention to the boy's hand.
"yeah, i know."