Chapter Text
TJ had apologized. He stayed on the team. He came to terms with his disability. And he apologized. Twice, he thought remembering the tin can. Though, there was one thing he hadn't done, he had still come to terms with, he had to clear up.
Which were his feelings.
“I'm such a mess.”, he thought to himself, laying on his bed. He wasn't able to sleep, ironically enough, he usually never really used his room, for anything other than sleeping. The thing keeping him awake, was the same thing keeping him up for the past weeks. The same thing that let him do what he thought was impossible.
He took his phone and unlocked it, randomly scrolling through his messages, until a new one appeared.
Underdog: Online at this time of the night?
TJ: Yeah, I sorta can't sleep really. What about you?
Underdog: I wish I could say it was me over-analyzing your rapping apology, but since I can't remember most of it, the truth is I had a long long long phone call with Andi that ended just two minutes ago.
TJ remembered Cyrus' list, with things he can't do, and remembered having a long long long phone call also being part of it. Talking to someone in person seemed to be a lot easier for him. He saddened at the realization, that he might have had that phone call with him instead.
TJ: So you've managed to check something of your list?
Cyrus: Oh right! Speaking of that list, do you know, what was the next thing I wanted to do?
TJ: Tell me tell me
Cyrus: I've never watched an entire horror movie before. So, you wanna come over, and help me overcome my fear of being eaten by a witch in the woods, or sharks, or mutated slugs?
TJ: You are quite knowledgeable for not knowing horror movies?
Cyrus: Oh I've done my research. But, what I wanted to say is: Wanna come over?
TJ: Sure!
He tried his best, to make his text not sound too excited.
Cyrus: Not right now though, I really need some sleep, but like Saturday? You could stay for the night
TJ: Sure thing underdog :)
As long as they would spend more time …
“So it's only us?”, TJ asked entering Cyrus' house.
“Yes, Andi is kinda caught up with something, and Buffy … well she lives an hour from here, and I doubt she'd just come here to see you.”
Ouch.
“Welcome to the Goodman's Goodmansion, the place where dreams come true.” Cyrus moved his hands as if he were projecting a Rainbow over his head, with glitter spraying out of his fingertips. TJ smiled at his cuteness.
“We'll go upstairs”, he then continued, “my parents use the lower floor as their office.”
“Lead the way, underdog”, TJ said when at the same moment one of the doors opened and Amber stepped out.
“Good bye.”, she said, turning around and spotting Cyrus. “Oh hey, Cyrus and ...”, she stopped in her tracks. “TJ.”
“Amber.”, he said without expressing any real emotion.
“You guys know each other?!”, Cyrus said in this shocked manner, only he could pull off perfectly.
“Yeah … she's my sister.”, TJ explained after Amber refused to say a single word.
“Okay bye.”, she simply said with a fake smile and left.
After hearing the door closing TJ turned around expecting either his sister coming back for some stupid reason, or someone explaining what the heck just happened. As neither of those options seemed to happen anytime soon, he asked Cyrus: “Why is she here?”
“Oh she's here for counseling obviously. But I can't give you any more details regarding that.”
TJ turned around noticing Cyrus stare at him. He feared he might blush if he was subjected to this radiating cuteness any longer, so he just asked: “Aren't we going upstairs?”, giving an awkward smile, to which Cyrus replied: “Oh yeah, we were about to watch a movie.”
Hanging out with his teammates was one thing, TJ realized, but hanging out with Cyrus Goodman, was totally different. Being with Cyrus, he noticed just too many things, to concentrate on any thing other, than his own thoughts, which were all directed towards Cyrus. When he sat next to him, he wondered, was this distance okay for him? Weren't they too close maybe? And what was his arm doing? Laying on the back of the sofa, he could easily grab his friends shoulders and hug him. And every single damn time Cyrus twitched because of some jumpscare, their legs would touch, causing TJ's body to launch fireworks into his brain, which was scary, and unfamiliar, but also made him happy enough to make him subconsciously close their distance, as if to protect Cyrus from whatever it was, that would harm him.
And as the credits rolled, Cyrus laid next to him, asleep. Looking at his cute face, TJ felt getting drawn into it, only to stop with their noses touching. Fireworks.
TJ felt as if he had woken up from a dream, as regretful thoughts flooded his mind. What is it he was feeling? What would happen, if he would close the distance between their lips? What would happen if he woke up? Were Jewish people homophobic?
That, he would not come to know, as he would lay down on the other side of the sofa, and fall asleep.