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"Oh honey, you look so handsome!" Cynthia Goodman gushes to her son Cyrus in the setting of their kitchen one February night, adjusting the bow tie of the boy who embarrassingly cringes at her comment.
"Mom..." It was already enough that she slicked back a loose strand of his hair with her spit.
"Your mother's right Cyrus. You look like a true dating competition show contestant." His step father of a few months speaks up, observatory crossing his arms and walking forward into the room.
"Thanks Dave..." He's still not entirely adjusted to how quickly he's moved into their lives-literally moving into the basement-nor is he completely over the surprise wedding he was forced to attend as a ring bearer.
"We're finally gonna meet Jonah Beck," Cynthia causes the redness all over her son's face.
"Um, you don't have to-"
"No Cyrus. We have to meet him so we know he's not up to any trouble." Dave gives him a stern point.
Despite knowing he's being rather protective than out to get him, Cyrus still hides a quick eye roll.
"He's the captain of the frisbee team. He can only be so much trouble," he wants to make a point.
"Oh, he sounds so adorable" Cynthia knows her beaming is further embarrassing Cyrus, which makes her grin playfully.
"He is" he mutters, focusing the sight of his eyes onto the floor all while flashing Cynthia a quick smirk.
The knock on the door almost sends Cyrus into a frenzy, body flinching and heart just about pumping out of his chest when it's not falling into his stomach.
"Should I get it?" Steve teases, in which Cyrus almost scowls. "No I-I'll get it..."
He flashes him a crossed look in his eyes before walking off.
"Hey..." He's already sweating, trying not to be too observant of Jonah's suit after he witnesses him standing on the porch, smiling at him like crazy.
"Hey, Cy' Guy," The other boy smirks and nervously walks into the house, breaking the promise he made to himself before coming here which was to not ogle over how Cyrus looks. Looks like he just can't help himself.
"So do you..." Cyrus has to force himself to take his eyes away.
"Uh, my parents-or, my Mom and her husband, they're in the kitchen..." He figures that's better than flat out saying 'they want to meet you and make sure you're not going to get us into trouble because everyone sure knows how dangerous frisbee playing is.'
And less time consuming.
"Okay," Jonah gets the hint, and his stomach almost drops at the thought.
He tries not to shake too much as he and Cyrus stand close to one another when walking into the kitchen.
"Oh, why hello Jonah!" Cynthia instantly beams and stands up from her chair once she sees him, sprinting over and shaking his hand.
"Hi..." he giggles, taken fully off guard by her eagerness.
Meanwhile Cyrus knew this would happen, his jaw clenching despite how much he's been preparing himself for the moment.
He would tear his own eyes out if it weren't for the human sun beam that he has the pleasure of looking at everyday.
"Cyrus has praised about you so much."
Not 'Cyrus has said so much,'
Not 'Cyrus has told us so many nice things,'
Cyrus has praised about you. That same Cyrus being the one who now stands in agony, wanting to be killed off by some unnatural force.
Ya know, if it weren't for his date with Jonah which could happen a lot sooner if his parents let them leave the house.
"How ya doin' Jonah..." Steve is a lot less embarrassing and more firm, the grip on his hand being quite strong and sending a lump into Jonah's throat.
To Cyrus that's still better than being described as a practical borderline stalker. As long as he's concerned, he'd take overprotectiveness over oversharing any day.
"Good, thanks..." There's nervous giggling within his voice, and Cyrus almost scoffs.
"So where are you two off to?" Cynthia wonders, her son still having it had kept a secret.
"It's a surprise. But I promise it's not too far."
Hearing the surprise part makes Jonah blush, being flashed a small smile by his date.
"Oh, that's so romantic!" Jonah can't not laugh at the grimace on Cyrus's face because of his mother's beam.
"You have your inhaler, right?"
"Yes," he claims just so they can get out of there.
"You sure?"
"Yes, Mom. Yes."
Jonah snickers at his on display annoyance.
"Well you two should really get going, right honey?" Leave it for Dave to save the day with his impatient eyes looking right at his wife. Cyrus sighs quietly in relief. "Wouldn't want them to walk home in pitch black."
"Right, right. Have a nice time!" She gets the hint, despite the huge smile still plastered over her face.
"Bye," Cyrus farewells, and Jonah adds on "Nice meeting you!"
"Nice meeting you sweetie! I've been waiting for this day."
Dave comes to terms that secondhand embarrassment is worse than actual embarrassment, and gives Cyrus the signal to drag Jonah out.
"Don't do anything I would do!" He calls out in a hope of humor, and both boys chuckle on their way to the porch.
"I'm so happy for them!" Cynthia is already crying happy tears.
"Don't push it Cynth'." Though Dave is already aware that she's already pushed it the extra mile.
"Don't do anything he would do?" Jonah smiles to him, as Cyrus moves the grip on his wrist down to his hand.
They both smile at the hot temperature and sweaty yet delightful contact; the giddiness almost leaving Cyrus speechless and forgetting to answer.
"Uh-uh he was a real wildcard--back in college. At least that's what he's told me. Over. And over. And over-"
He finishes the explanation by laughing along with the other boy, who had started to guffaw.
"Uh, so, where are you taking me exactly?" Jonah smiles to him as they walk down the wooden porch hand in hand.
"It's a surprise, remember?" He glances at him.
"Should I be nervous?" One arm is holding his hand while the other is already draping around his shoulders.
Cyrus almost flinches when feeling so, but calmly relaxes his muscles and smiles warmly when the action has sunken in.
Both almost even forget to continue walking, not even reaching the sidewalk yet.
Jonah is about to step onto the road moments after they've resumed walking, but Cyrus smiles turns him towards his driveway.
"Eh. This way."
"What?" Jonah's laughing within his tone again.
"Just follow me" Cyrus grins, leading them to and up their driveway, walking them through their gate and into the woods behind his backyard.
"I don't think I would've gotten dressed up if I knew our date was gonna be in the nature," Jonah smiles, and Cyrus laughs with their hands still intertwined, the sounds of their shoes crunching into the pine needles and leaves growing satisfying to their ears.
"Are we hunting for ghosts?"
"No." Cyrus smirks, knowing he's playing.
"Demons?"
"No."
"The boogie man-?"
Cyrus's smiling shush sends them into fits of laugher, and he brings him closer with the help of his arm.
"You should talk less," smiles Cyrus with total intents of sarcasm.
They exit the back of the woods which leads them to the empty roads, and Jonah's brow furrows. "Where are you taking me?" He's seeming to giggle every time he talks to him now.
"You'll see. Look both ways. Safety first," he's starting to learn that he loves to mess with him, especially since the adorable laugher he brings out of him afterwards is not only contagious, but music to his ears.
"There's no one driving by" Jonah is grinning from ear to ear. He's been doing that a lot ever since Cyrus came around.
"Still," Cyrus smiles the entire time when he tilts Jonah's head to right, and then to the left with several giggle filled seconds in-between. Jonah snatches away his hand and squeezes it into his own.
They cross the road steadily and carefully as jokingly as they please.
"We're still not there?" Asks Jonah, now being led onto an empty field of green grass.
"You need to learn to be more patient. Just a few more steps."
"It's been more than a few steps" he jokes after walking a few more feet.
He's happily shushed again.
"Viola." They're now standing on the sidewalk again after 'just a few more steps', before a big but bent out of shape two-story wooden house.
"You bought me a house?"
"Yes, yes, now let me give you tour," the boys speak in sarcasm, and after walking up to the household they enter inside with Cyrus's swift action of turning the door knob.
"Whoa, how'd you find this place?" Jonah gazes around the empty living room in fascination.
Except for the simple picnic basket sitting in the middle of the room.
"It's been abandoned for, I don't even know how long. I had to clean the place up a bit so we weren't eating surrounded by cob webs and dust."
"You did not have to do that" Jonah laughs, approaching the picnic basket and opening it up.
Cyrus joins him and they spread out the blanket together in all smiles, Jonah grinning more and more with each item of food he takes out to set down.
Zip-locked Turkey sandwiches, two thermoses of milkshakes, slices of pineapple and kiwi, and two orders of baby taters.
"I don't think I've ever--met anyone as cool as you." Jonah smiles afterwards, when all the food's been placed and they're standing in front of one another again.
"Have you met yourself?" He laughs out, to be gently punched in the shoulder by him.
Instead of sitting across one another on different sides of the blanket like two people would usually do, they sit right next to each other on the left end of the blanket.
"So how long has all this been sitting in the house?" Jonah laughs as he takes a bite into his surprisingly cold temperature sandwich.
"Literally only like, a half hour. I prepared everything today, rushed it here, then ran back home to shower and get ready before you got here."
"Geez. I don't think I could ever top this."
"So there's gonna be a second date?" Cyrus isn't sure whether he's flirting or not, but hopes to be.
"I would hope there'd be." Jonah is wondering if he's flirting back correctly.
According the redness on both their faces and smiles in their eyes, they're both doing just perfectly.
"I don't know if I'd be able to plan one as good as you would though, Cy' guy," he pokes fun at himself.
Cy' guy tries not to laugh the slice of pineapple out of his mouth.
"Don't worry" he smiles, after swallowing down the food. "Now that I think about it this whole thing is kinda sophisticated." He giggles.
"No. No, it's not...It's perfect."
Despite starting to blush, Cyrus still wants to turn his words into a laughing matter.
"Except for the old creepy abandoned house." Jonah does his best to not cough up his food all over the place.
"True. What if it collapses on us?"
"Hm. I haven't exactly thought that through--" they start to laugh again, and Jonah stares down at the bowl of baby taters they've yet touch. Cyrus follows his gaze, eyes popping at the sight.
"Baby taters?" He asks, eyes meeting one another.
"Baby taters."
"Ooh! That reminds me," says Cyrus, happening to reach for one the same time as Jonah.
Neither of them complain when their hands happen to touch.
"My tater theatre!" He beams, dipping the entire Augustus tater in the small side bowl of ketchup and eating him in one bite.
"Augustus no!" Jonah pitches his voice and shakes around the Hazel Grace tater he grabs out of the bowl.
"But Augustus was gone. Fin." Cyrus narrates the end of their food playing.
"Fin means that everything ends up okay, Cyrus" Jonah's already laughing at his mistake, and Cyrus laughs harder.
"Maybe 'baby taters' can be our always" Jonah considers, and the laugher grows more intense.
"That was some pretty dark tater theatre. Even for you, Cy' guy." He teases him.
"Eh, my step Dad's shown me a lot of weird interesting movies lately."
Jonah chortles, and Cyrus makes an unexpected realization.
"Wow."
"What?" Jonah wonders.
"That was the first time I ever called Steve my step Dad..." He's just about appalled.
"Do you not like him?" Jonah assumes.
"He's alright. The whole thing was just sudden, ya know. He married my Mom at a courthouse after dating her for seven months."
"I get how weird that can make someone feel," Jonah nods in agreement towards Cyrus's feelings.
"Then he just moved in. He's not out to get me or anything, we just don't have anything in common. He took me fishing one day. It was awkward."
Jonah chuckles lightly. "Aw. Well things will get better. It'll take time."
"Yeah," Cyrus's fearful mind that the discomfort would never end, considers it after someone's actually brought it up.
"Where's your real Dad?" He's asked.
The blood might as well be floating up to the top of his head.
"Uh...in Salt Lake. I don't really talk to him much..." His bottom lip is bitten uncomfortably and eyes trailing to the floor.
"Oh." Jonah can tell he'd rather not speak up, not wanting him to feel like he can't. Maybe if he confessed something to him, they would have less trouble.
"Uh, can I tell you something? I've never really told anyone before..."
"Yeah.." His wrist is comfortingly touched by Cyrus, causing both their faces to glow.
"Uh...I have foster parents." He finally admits.
"Really?"
"Yeah..."
"Jonah that's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I know, but, I decided to stop telling people because everyone always just asks questions. They try to turn the mystery of my bio parents into some huge thing and, it's just annoying."
"You don't have to try contacting them. You don't ever have to want to."
Jonah's smile at him is astonished. "No one's ever told me that before...Thank you." Their hands resume to hold.
"Of course...Uh, my Dad, he, he isn't really a nice person." Cyrus now feels he can open up, which Jonah gladly accepts.
"Uh-huh," he encourages him to continue with a nod of his head.
"He--he married this woman who he cheated on my Mom with, and who's twenty years younger."
"Yikes," Jonah cringes at the thought. "I-I'm sorry, Cyrus."
"Apologize to my Mom before you apologize to me. He really--hurt her. It sucked."
Jonah's touch to his arm lowers down the tears that were just about to build up before his eyes.
"It's okay..." he comforts, and Cyrus smiles gratefully.
"Sorry" he apologies for his emotional buildup.
"Don't be." He insists. "You can always tell me this stuff, you know? I know what it's like to come from a broken household. A lot, actually." It's no secret he's talking about past foster homes.
"God, that must've been terrible."
"It was mostly just people that did it for the money and stuff. I could tell they didn't care; being tossed back once they got what they wanted. I ran away a few times, but didn't get very far. Those things were at least better than being hit."
"One hit you?" Cyrus didn't think it couldn't get any worse.
"It didn't go on for too long, but...Yeah." He expresses shyly,
"Oh my God" he whispers tentatively, squeezing both his hands to point of no circulation.
"You don't deserve that Jonah. You never did."
"I know..." His eyes flicker. "That was the last home I was in before my parents rescued me when I was eleven. I...I don't want to know where I'd be without them."
"Well I'd love to meet them."
"They want to meet you."
"You've told them about me?"
"Since I first met you, yeah."
At that, Cyrus laughs with flattery.
"They're like, major mellows. When I came out they were pretty much ecstatic."
"That's so cute," Cyrus giggles, and Jonah only scoffs with a shake of his head at the thoughts.
Not too soon afterwards, they finish most of, and pack up the picnic it was hard to not cough up from laughing together so hard.
"Did you ever check out upstairs?" Jonah's curiosity gets the best of him as Cyrus is closing the basket and picking it up.
"No," he catches on to Jonah's intent, and chuckles at him. "Why, Mr. Explorer?"
"Because. Maybe we'll find something. Like a skeleton or a dead body."
"Or maybe we'll find nothing." Cyrus is hoping for that less traumatizing prediction.
"Just come on" Jonah smiles and pulls him along, the two laughing all the way up the creaky stairs.
"There's literally nothing up here," he states the obvious when they stand on the second floor's hallway, but stands corrected when Cyrus starts coughing at the amount of dust and cobwebs.
"Except those." He does his best to swat away what he can with both his hands and fists.
"You okay?"
He makes sure, when Cyrus's coughing mostly dies down.
"Yeah," he coughs again. "Just-asthma." He sets down the basket and flashes a smile.
They decide to roam the halls and explore the ghost town bedrooms and uncooperative bathrooms.
"Who do you think this belonged to?" Jonah asks him in another ghost town of what they're claiming is a guest room for the simple fun of it.
"No idea. Maybe someone elderly?" Cyrus guesses, which Jonah laughs at. "Maybe they use it for Halloween and made it haunted. Maybe it already is. Maybe there are skeletons in the closet" Jonah hastily runs his mouth with a big goofy smile on his face.
After finishing their laugher, Cyrus can instantly tell by the passion in Jonah's eyes which stare into his, that something good is about to happen. Something great.
His eyes slowly close, feeling the effects of him leaning in.
He tries his best to contain the smile that so badly wants to break out on his face. His heart that's already beating a little too much, practically falls into his stomach when the tips of their noses touch.
Jonah's glad that Cyrus can't see his forearms shaking, nor can he hear the heart rattling around within his chest.
As their lips draw closer, their palms grow closer and knees weaker.
Both their eyes pop open and hearts still, when each ear hears the front door open.
"Who was that" Cyrus knows his whispering question is foolish.
Separating from one another, Jonah is almost too anxious to answer. His mouth opens but nothing comes out.
The boys curiously perk up when they hear many older male voices talking all at once.
"Why are there people here...?!" Jonah shout whispers.
"I have no idea."
"Uhh..." they're both nervously look around, unable to hear what any of the men are saying. "Maybe they're here for a meeting or something..." Cyrus guesses.
"In an empty house?"
He huffs. "Okay, uh..." He looks out the open doorway of their room.
"Maybe if we just approach them nicely and explain we were exploring for, uh, paranormal reasons, then they'll understand and we'll leave nicely."
"Yeah. Uh, okay..." Jonah isn't a hundred percent certain it'll go right, but it's still worth a shot. From how the men are using their inside voices and speaking professionally, they seem like good people, right?
"Lets light it up."
Hearing that being said, the young boys scramble into the nearest two doored closet, bringing the still half filled picnic basket along and closing the doors the best they can.
"Drugs?" Cyrus breaths out, sitting criss crossed apple sauce next to Jonah who's clutching his hand for comfort.
"It's okay, uh, maybe they don't mean anything too extreme...After a bit, they'll be too high to even notice that we're making our way out."
"Oh, I should've known. People probably come here to do drugs all the time."
Cyrus thrusts down his fist in defeat, causing Jonah to giggle.
"We'll be fine. They have no idea we're here. We still have baby taters left, too!"
He points over to the picnic basket, and they both laugh.
"Yeah. I'll let you plan the next date, okay?" He teases. Again they giggle.
They pass the short amount of time that passes by, by playfully squeezing together and grabbing one another's hands with gigantic smiles and erupted laughter.
"Do you hear anything?" Jonah whispers to him when it sounds like they're the only two in the house again.
"I don't think so..." Cyrus is aware of the silence, but also aware of the unpleasant scent coming up his nose. "But I can still smell the smoke they're smoking..." He almost cringes and the smell's intensity.
"Cyrus..." Jonah's heart drops again in realization. "I don't think that's substance smoke..."
"What?"
As the scent of the smoke grows stronger, and the sound of flames are slowly making their way heard from downstairs, Cyrus almost goes into pure shock.
"Holy crap!" He flies open the doors.
"D-don't worry, okay?! It-it's only downstairs..." Jonah is doing what he can to spread calmness despite his own voice shaking.
"For now, what's gonna happen when it makes its way up here?! We're gonna die!"
"No we're not!" Jonah has them both stand up, and is dragging Cyrus out of the closet with a tight grip.
"Jonah no-!"
"It's okay! Get behind me."
"Are you sure-?"
"Yes!" He starts to assert him.
Cyrus sighs and does as told, feeling Jonah's arms wrapping around him and being shielded by his body for extra protection.
Faster than either of them can comprehend, they're practically tripping themselves down the stairway and doing what they can to dodge the flames, intense smoke, and falling shreds of wood.
They make their way out the door coughing and gasping for air, to see that there's already a team of firefighters and two fire trucks parked out front. One of the men curse at the sight of them, he and three more team members sprinting over to them.
"Who called you?!" Jonah coughs out, pulling a wheezing Cyrus close to him and assuming someone spotted the fire and called them over in a nick of time.
"We started a test fire."
"Test fire?" Cyrus can barely talk, already feeling lightheaded; a sight Jonah isn't a fan of.
"Where were you boys in that house?!" They're demanded.
"Upstairs...! When we heard you downstairs we got scared and hid in the closet until we smelt the flames."
In distress and complete shock, some of the firefighters go as far to blame each other for not checking the whole house, until the chief tells them to calm down and not act immaturely.
"We're just glad you two are okay," he tells them both, who nod in agreement. While another set of firefighters are actually heading in to put the fire out, Cyrus is endlessly coughing and wheezing with each breath he struggles to get out.
"Cyrus?! Cyrus!" Jonah grabs his shoulders and forces eye contact. "Inhaler?!" He begs for an answer.
"Does he have asthma-?"
"What do you think?!" He's already snapping at one of the workers.
They're being rushed into the second firetruck that's not in use, and are seated in the back for the privilege of more room.
Right as the truck is driven away from the property, the house just about collapses from the flames.
Jonah helps Cyrus sit up best he can and has him take deep steady breaths on the way to the hospital, clasping his shoulder and squeezing his hand the entire time.
The same firefighters that drove them insist on tagging along until parents arrive and they know that everything is okay.
"Cyrus! Oh, my poor baby!" Despite the high heels on her feet, Cynthia comes sprinting down the hallway Cyrus was given permission to walk out into after he was treated, with Steve walking at his own patient pace.
"Mom, Mom Mom Mom I-I'm okay" her son laughs quietly at her after she's scooped him into her arms and is refusing to let go.
"It's okay baby I'm here! You're okay!"
"I know..." He gives Dave a helpless look from fifteen feet away, who only laughs in response at the sight.
"Oh, I am going to sue those firefighters if it's the last thing I do!" She's declaring after finally letting him loose. "What kind of professionals don't check the entire house before starting a test-"
"Mom, Mom! It's okay. I'm fine," Cyrus is hoping with everything he can that she won't press chargers. "They drove us here and gave Jonah tips on how to help me. I-I should've brought my inhaler."
"Which you lied to me about having!"
"I-I didn't think I was gonna need it and-"
"Cyrus!" Jonah comes running past Dave and hugs him harder than he ever could.
"Ugh, I was so worried about you" he groans into his shoulder, sniffing his scent for reminiscent.
"Mm, I appreciate your sincerity to no end but if you squeeze me any harder I'm gonna have another asthma attack..." Cyrus can't feel his ribs.
"Sorry" he pulls away in a haste, giggling along with him as Dave is walking closer.
"You okay bud?" He asks.
"Yeah, thanks..." this is the first time he's ever called him 'bud' before. Now that Jonah is here, he's waiting for them to leave and let them have at least one moment alone in the aftermath.
"Um, we'll meet you in the waiting room. Okay?" His heightened eyebrows give them the hint.
"Oh! Okay" Cynthia couldn't be more obvious, unlike Dave who only nods and pats his shoulder before pulling her along. Cyrus smiles at the gesture.
"Keep her away from any firemen!" He yells out to him.
"I'll do my best!"
Once they're officially gone, Jonah chuckles over at him. "Your folks are cool."
Cyrus almost cringes in amusement. "Not really," he scoffs out, and Jonah laughs at his classic reaction.
"Uh, I called mine. I kinda left out the whole fire part and just told them you had an asthma attack without your inhaler around."
"Smart," Cyrus giggles. "That's what I should've just told mine." And again they laugh.
"Yeah, ahahaha. I'm just, really glad you're okay." Jonah turns serious.
"I'm glad you're okay too...You saved my life. You got me out of that house. Helped me during the asthma attack."
"No I didn't" Jonah denies the part about being claimed a life saver, scoffing with a quick shake of his head.
Cyrus giggles at him.
"Yes...You did..."
Their smiles grow wider and smiles bigger, both their bodies and minds experiencing those nervous feelings again. The pounding hearts, the turning stomachs: sweating palms and overthinking minds.
After the worries are shoved away they waste no time connecting their lips, and sharing a somewhat awkward but overall serenading first kiss, for at least five seconds.
Cyrus is breathing heavily again after pulling away, smiles returning and both boys gazing at each other with glowing faces.
Palms now extra sweaty and minds in pure shock with shaking knees, they laugh at each other with nervous relief.
"Try not to have another asthma attack," Jonah teases, causing Cyrus to push him playfully and almost guffaw to the ironic point of breathlessness, in which Jonah steps closer and touches him with a worried hand.
Cyrus chuckles at his worry, not afraid to have their sweaty palms reunite.
There's another moment of pure passion and giddy grins until he gasps in pure remembrance.
"The baby taters!" He yells.
Had not knowing what to think at the sound of such a gasp, Jonah laughs and shakes his head at the adorable sight of his now grieving, now hopefully boyfriend.
He wouldn't want Cyrus to be anything else.