Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For the average student, the first day of school can often be the most exciting day… or the most dreaded. And for Cyrus, it was a bit of both. He was excited to absorb new information while having the excuse to hang out with his friends. But, he also dreaded the inevitable required socialization with his peers.

So, he stood outside of his best childhood friend Jonah's house, staring at a ladybug crawling in the grass. It was already 10 minutes past the time he and Jonah agreed to meet up, but he was patient. He always was when it came to the other boy.

Just as Cyrus looked at his watch, Jonah came rushing out the house.

"Hey! Sorry, I got... distracted,” he said, sounding winded.

Cyrus felt himself blush. He couldn't help but notice that Jonah looked particularly good in his new back-to-school outfit. It seemed to bring out every muscle that he managed to gain over the summer. The green and blue plaid button down he wore over his plain white t-shirt really made his eyes pop.

"It's fine," Cyrus said as they began walking their usual path to school. "It gave me a chance to think of what I'm gonna say for the inevitable icebreakers we'll have to do."

Jonah chuckled. "Oh yeah, that's a good idea. So, what did you come up with?"

Cyrus switched to his professional tone. "Hello, my name is Cyrus and all 4 of my shrink parents like to have weekly meetings to talk about my feelings."

Jonah chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh, you're hilarious man,” he said. "But seriously, you should tell them what makes you the coolest guy ever."

Cyrus blushed again. "Well hopefully, they'll figure it out like you did."

Jonah was his neighbor and they had been best friends since kindergarten. They did almost everything together and eventually made the same friends. At age 10, Cyrus named their little group The Good Hair Crew, consisting of his friendly self, the cool Jonah, the artistic Andi, and the sporty Buffy. They were an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.

And, at the age of 12, Cyrus realized he was gay and had a giant and irrevocable crush on his cute and dimpled friend. And even at 15, that aspect hadn’t changed one bit.

-

Just as they arrived at the high school, their phones ping-ed with a message in their group chat. They were all to meet at Andi’s locker.

“Can you believe we’re juniors?” Andi asked, the excitement clear in her voice.

“Now we’re the top dogs.” Buffy smirked.

“What about the seniors?” Jonah asked.

“Nah, they don't care enough to be the top dogs. They already did that last year.”

Laughing together in amusement, they took out their schedules and compared classes.

“Please, anyone tell me they have B lunch with me today?” Andi begged her friends. She always hated eating alone.

“I do,” Jonah replied with a dimpled smile, looking over at Cyrus to hear his reply.

“A lunch” Cyrus said regretfully.

He wished he could take back his words when Jonah’s smile faded some.

“Me too!” Buffy exclaimed, making Cyrus’ smile return.

Buffy wasn’t as nice to look at as Jonah, but she was the only one Cyrus could tell everything to. At least he would have one of his friends there, instead of being that one person pretending to choose to eat alone.

“Cool, so we all have someone to eat with!” Andi smiled.

Her phone sounded off. When she went to check it, her face brightened even more.

“Walker,” Buffy stated in an amused tone when Andi immediately ignored them for her phone, tapping furiously. “They just made it official last night”

“And why haven’t we heard of this?” Cyrus replied incredulously.

Jonah didn’t seem bothered at all at being left out of the loop.

“I only know because she wouldn’t shut up about how romantic it was when we were walking to school.”

Apparently listening, Andi finally looked up from her phone. “He called me at like midnight and told me he didn’t want some guy in one of my classes to steal me away and asked me to be his girlfriend!”

Her voice got more high pitched until she ended her sentence with a squeal of delight.

“That’s docious Andiman! Walker’s like the coolest dude”

Cyrus felt a pang in his chest, reminding him that Jonah was that friendly with everyone. As much as he wanted to believe that he was special to Jonah, at the end of the day, he was treated just like everyone else.

Buffy noticed his grimace and flashed him a questioning look, but the bell rang before Cyrus could say a word about it.

“Later,” he mouthed as the rest of the crew separated and went to their own ways to prepare for their classes.

-

Buffy and Cyrus both poked at their lunch, suspiciously. It was supposed to be some kind of mashed potato, string beans, and chicken nuggets. But the potatoes looked green, the string beans were practically raw, and they weren’t sure if the chicken was actually chicken.

“I don’t think this is kosher,” Cyrus mumbled.

“I don’t think this is food,” added Buffy.

They put their forks down with a sigh and looked at each other.

“Snacks?” Cyrus asked.

“Snacks,” Buffy nodded in agreement.

Fifteen minutes later, their table was loaded with bags of cheese puffs, boxes of cookies, and an assortment of fruit snacks they looted from the vending machines.

“So, Buffy, how are your classes so far?” Cyrus asked before emptying the last crumbs of a bag of cheese puffs into his mouth.

“Eh,” she replied.

Cyrus could relate.

“But my math teacher has a septum piercing,” she added.

“Woah, okay, you win coolest teacher,” Cyrus said as he reached for a fruit snack. “It’s kinda weird not having Andi or Jonah at lunch with us. Last year, there was always at least three of us.”

“Yeah, but now we can talk about Jonah without having to worry,” Buffy replied with a saucy wiggle of her eyebrows.

Cyrus blushed with the casual mention of his desperate crush on his other best friend.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Cyrus sighed. “He’s still gorgeous and uninterested.”

“I don’t know Cy,” Buffy smirked. “I don’t think him asking Andi how he should fix his hair before he went out to see you is uninterested.”

“He did?” Cyrus said with a slightly hopeful smile. But then, it fell again. “Well, it’s the first day of school, that’s not so weird.”

“But why didn’t he ask you when you were right outside?” Buffy refuted. “Don’t you guys already help pick each other's outfits sometimes?”

Cyrus gave a sheepish grin and shrug as he poured a few of the jellies into his palm. “It doesn’t matter anyway, he’s never shown any interest.”

“And you have?” Buffy dared him to argue with her point.

Cyrus stuffed the jellies into his mouth. “Are there any cheesy puffs left?” he mumbled while chewing.

Buffy leaned back in triumph. “You’ll see. I’m always right.”

-

Weeks passed and Cyrus was starting to get back into the normal school flow.

Walk with Jonah. Don’t say anything embarrassing. Meet up with the crew at someone’s locker. Don’t stare at Jonah too much. Go to class. Don’t daydream about Jonah. Have lunch with Buffy. Don’t talk about Jonah too much. More class. Sometimes have a basket of baby taters. Then walk back home with Jonah.

Don’t. Stare. At. Jonah.

“Hey Cyrus, my good man!” Jonah yelled before running up to him.

My good man? Cyrus thought, his mind going in hyperdrive as he watched Jonah approach. MY?? MAN???

“Hey dude, I wanted to ask you something but I totally blanked earlier.”

Cyrus nodded weakly as he tried to figure out what was going on. “What’s up?” he asked his voice a bit high pitched.

“I was thinking of trying out for the basketball team, and I wanted to know if you’ll tryout with me?”

Cyrus stood perfectly still for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Me? On the basketball team?” he asked incredulously.

Was Jonah still not aware of the lack of athleticism in his body?!

Jonah looked a bit sheepish as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Actually I was thinking you could be the team manager. Then we could still hang out.”

Cyrus immediately felt terrible. How could he be the one making Jonah pout like that?

“Oh, I thought you meant play on the actual team.” Cyrus felt himself cheer up a bit and maybe a little thrilled and honored. “Sure! I can be your biggest support by handing out high-quality water and snacks! And whatever else a team manager does I guess, but mostly snacks!”

Jonah bent his head down as he laughed before smiling at Cyrus with his dimples in full force. Cyrus felt his heart flutter.

“See, that’s why I want you there,” Jonah enthused. “There’s no way we could lose with you to support us. You’re the best, Cy Guy.”

Cyrus puffed up his chest with pride. Jonah said he was the best and no way was Cyrus going to disappoint him.

Then, the school bell rang out loudly, interrupting their conversation and Cyrus’ mini victory dance in his head.

“Oh shit! I can’t be late!” Jonah exclaimed, eyes wide as he gathered his things. “Tryouts are tomorrow!” he yelled behind his shoulder as he ran off to class, leaving Cyrus rooted to his spot.

Oh… Goodman! Cyrus chuckled to himself, feeling pride swell in his chest as he figured out what Jonah meant. He tended to be slow when it came to these things.

But just as quick as he felt it, the feeling deflated and was replaced with resigned disappointment.

As always, there was nothing more to Jonah's words.

Chapter Text

The very next day, Jonah and Cyrus showed up at the school gym where basketball tryouts were taking place.

Cyrus was immediately overwhelmed. How could he not have known how many tall guys went to their school?! It was obvious when you finally saw them all gathered in one room.

“Hey, you should go talk to the Coach and tell him you want to be the manager,” Jonah said, breaking him out of his anxious thoughts.

“Yeah, okay good luck with all the…” Cyrus made vague basketball gestures making Jonah chuckle.

“Thanks man. Hopefully, I can get on the Varsity team.”

“I know you’ll get on the Varsity team.”

Jonah beamed before walking off, but Cyrus felt less sure once he saw Jonah mingling with the rest of the team hopefuls. His friend wasn’t exactly one of the tallest compared to the other guys, but Cyrus still believed that his ability and sportsmanship would get Jonah through. At least, he hoped that it did.

Taking a deep breath to calm his rising anxiety, Cyrus walked up to the Coach with as much confidence as he could muster.

“Hello, Coach,” he began, his head raised high even though he was a bundle of nerves on the inside. “My name is Cyrus Goodman. I’m a junior and I would like to apply for your open team manager position.”

Short. Concise. And to the point.

The Coach looked him up and down, eyebrows raised. “Hmm, well, Gus over there already asked ahead of time.”

Cyrus noticed a red-haired boy with a similar small build and glasses standing nearby, watching the players, intently. He looked like he meant business and Cyrus couldn’t help but be intimidated. Should he have brought some kind of resume to up his chances?

“But I guess I could use two managers,” the Coach continued.

Cyrus perked up. “Thank you, sir!” he called out to the coach’s retreating back, just before the man loudly blew his whistle.

“All right! Line up!” he barked at the crowd of teens.

Once they were all in a line, the Coach began his introductions. He introduced himself as Coach Mullen, welcomed them to try-outs, explained a little bit of the history of the team, and then introduced them to the five players who had come to watch them and observe.

“Tristan Vasquez, Varsity team center. Will Jones, JV shooting guard. Francis Yu, Varsity shooting guard. Kyle Sanders, JV team Captain. And T.J. Kippen, Varsity team Captain. We’ll be watching you all closely, so do your best!”

It was only then that Cyrus noticed the small group of guys sitting on the lower bleachers. He recognized the JV Captain as a fellow Junior from his Physics class so the rest must be Seniors.
They were all wearing the sports team’s signature Letterman jacket.

When introductions were done, Coach Mullen had the guys alternate counting 1 and 2, effectively putting them in two different groups. Cyrus was assigned Group 1 and Gus had Group 2.

And to Cyrus’ relief, Jonah was in Group 1. He flashed Cyrus a thumbs up when he realized.

The first drill was running laps. Cyrus and Gus were to keep the times of their respective groups and record them in the sheets the Coach gave them.

Jonah came in 4th place, not the best, but not too bad either.

The rest of the tryout drills went in the same fashion. Jonah came out not quite on top for each exercise, but definitely nowhere near getting cut.

Cyrus couldn’t help but notice the players on the bleachers. The Varsity Captain, in particular, seemed to be quite passionate about each drill. He was tall, like you expected a basketball player to be, with gelled-back dirty blonde hair. But Cyrus noticed him the most because he was the loudest, yelling out comments like “Come on, you could have gotten that!” and “Are you blind?! Pass! Pass!” His teammates around him seemed used to his attitude as they paid him no mind, just talking quietly with each other and pointing to few of the guys on the court.

Coach Mullen even glared at the Captain a few times but made no comment as he continued leading the drills.

Cyrus wasn’t sure if he liked this Captain guy very much and made a mental note to stay out of his way.

The drills just kept going and at some point, Cyrus just got lost in watching Jonah. His friend’s face was so determined and earnest that he barely noticed his gym shirt rising up and showing an illegal amount of skin. Barely noticed it at all.

By the time the last drill before the end of tryouts was announced, Jonah was sweaty, out of breath, and clearly disheartened.

“Hey, you're doing great out there,” Cyrus said when he caught up with him while the latter was taking a water break.

“Yeah, thanks,” Jonah said, but he sounded a bit distracted.

Cyrus chose not to say anything more, simply taking the half-empty bottle of water Jonah handed to him just as the Coach blew his whistle again, calling all the players back on the court.

“Okay, the last drill will be a practice game, with both teams going against each other. Play your best, but play fairly. This is your last chance to show me…”

Then, he gestured to the players who had changed into athletic gear during the break. “... and these guys what you've got.”

He placed three of the players in Group 2 and the remaining two, including the mean-looking Captain, were in Group 1.

The Coach, then, turned towards Cyrus and Gus. “You two keep track of the score and take down who makes the most points.”

Then, he blew his whistle and the players got in position.

Cyrus watched Jonah as he tried to get comfortable, since he wasn’t actually assigned a position. He nervously chewed on his lip, eyes not leaving his friend.

It took a few missed passes and being blocked by the other team, but Jonah eventually found his ground, assisting the Varsity Captain who was making more baskets than anyone else on his team.

He was an impressive player, Cyrus had to admit that much. He was easily dominating the game, but Cyrus was mostly proud that Jonah was the one beside him helping, making it all happen without having to be a showboat. At some point, the Captain even spared Jonah a high-five after a remarkable pass.

Cyrus tried his best to keep track of the score, but couldn't help the feeling that he wasn’t exactly prepared for any of this. He knew nothing about basketball! He didn’t even know what the positions were!

Before he knew it, the coach was blowing the whistle, ending the game.

The other players patted some of the guys on the back, telling them that they played a great game. The Varsity Captain was silent, though, just standing next to Coach Mullen, looking all scary and imposing.

“You all did well today,” the Coach announced to the exhausted boys, nodding at them, proudly. “But there are limited spots for both the varsity and junior varsity teams. The results will be posted on Monday. If you aren’t where you want to be, practice hard and try again next year. Don’t come to me and try to change my mind or get your mothers to come and try and change my mind. My decision will be final. Good luck to all of you.”

And with that, tryouts were over.

-

Jonah was uncharacteristically quiet on their walk home. And Cyrus was worried because part of him knew that his friend wasn’t satisfied with how he played. Jonah was a perfectionist like that.

“What’s wrong? You were great!” Cyrus piped with a large smile, hoping to cheer his best friend up.

“Nothing it’s just…” Jonah sighed, miserably. “There were so many shots I could’ve taken and passes I could’ve blocked. But I played it safe and now I’m gonna be on the safe JV team.”

He sounded so distressed. Cyrus wanted to hug him. But, he held himself back.

“What? Jonah, you’re crazy if you don’t see how talented you are!” Cyrus exclaimed. “Do you know how many shots you made? And you were like the fastest guy out there. Even I could tell that you did amazing.”

Jonah blushed slightly and a glimmer of a smile appeared on his lips. “You think so?”

“Not to be cheesy, but I know so.” Cyrus raised an eyebrow. “Don’t let your anxieties lie to you.”

Jonah stopped suddenly. Before Cyrus knew what was happening, he was being pulled forward into a hug.

“Thanks Cy Guy.”

Cyrus felt the blood rushing to his face by the time the hug ended and they continued walking home. He could practically feel the blush spreading from his cheeks, to his ears, and down to his neck. His heart was pumping fast and hard against his chest and he discreetly tried to breath through his mouth to calm down.

Thankfully, they soon reached Jonah’s house.

“See ya in school.” Jonah waved as he walked up to the front door.

Cyrus just watched as his friend entered his home and shut the door.

Smiling to himself, he continued on his own walk home, a slight skip in his steps.

-

Monday finally came and the first thing Cyrus and Jonah did after arriving at school was to anxiously scan all the bulletin boards for the results.

“Where is it posted?” Jonah asked, looking around.

Cyrus noticed an unusually tall group huddled by the bulletin board hanging in the hallway leading to the Gym.

“I’m guessing over there.” Cyrus pointed out.

Stomachs churning in nerves and anticipation, they made their way towards their fate. As they walked closer, they recognized a few guys from last week’s tryouts walking away from the board, looking crestfallen.

Jonah took a deep breath and looked at Cyrus nervously. Cyrus gave him two thumbs up in support, which made the other smile weakly before pushing his way in between two guys in order to read the sheet listing the new members of the Varsity team.

Cyrus waited until the other two left to sidle up next to Jonah, but his friend had already finished reading the results.

“We got in!” Jonah exclaimed turning his head to look at Cyrus. “And you’re the new manager for Varsity!”

Cyrus’ eyes widened. “I am?!”

Right there, typed at the bottom of the sheet, were the words “Team Manager” and right next to it was “Cyrus Goodman.”

“I am!” He raised his arms to the air in victory before meeting Jonah’s double high-five.

While he was busy celebrating, Cyrus almost didn’t notice a familiar redhead coming up behind him to peek over his shoulder at the Varsity sheet until he muttered, “Dammit.”

Cyrus followed Gus’ gaze to the JV sheet pinned beside the Varsity sheet. Beside “Team Manager” was the name “Augustus Martin”.

“I knew 7 points was for a different sport,”the redhead muttered to himself. “I should’ve Googled it.” He turned to Cyrus. “You beat me fair and square, Goodman. Take good care of the team.” he said seriously and held out his hand.

Cyrus nodded as he took the hand and shook it. “I will,” he said, equally serious.

They shared a smile before Gus turned on his heels and walked away. Meanwhile, Cyrus turned his attention back to Jonah who was practically vibrating with excitement.

“We have practice every Tuesday and Thursday! Oh man, Cy. This is gonna be great!”

And with Jonah smiling at him like he owned the world, Cyrus believed every word.

-

But, as everyone eventually realizes about real life, things were very much different in practice.

Because once the first team practice was underway, Cyrus couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. For one, he was now going to spend a regular amount of his time with jocks… A LOT of jocks. Not that he had anything against them, but they definitely never seemed to enjoy his presence before.

He was the nerd in the high school hierarchy. Jocks didn’t get along with nerds, that was how it had always been.

So, there he was, standing on the side with his hands in front of him in rapt attention as Coach Mullen explained how their practices would go.

Five minutes in, the gym doors opened with a loud squeak, distracting everyone, including Cyrus.

The Cocky Captain strolled in. He was 5 minutes late.

“How nice of you to join us, Captain,” Coach Mullen said with clear disapproval.

“I had to talk to a teacher,” was the guy’s simple reply as he took his place next to the man.

Coach Mullen narrowed his eyes at him for a moment before sighing and turning back to the team.

“You all remember Tardy T.J. here, your Captain. He’s been on the team since his freshman year and understands how we run things. Therefore while you boys warm up by running laps…” He turned back to T.J. and tossed him a set of keys. “You can help our new manager with the equipment.”

T.J. rolled his eyes but said nothing as he nodded his head. The boys, including Jonah, scattered and began to run around the gym, leaving Cyrus standing in the same spot, shaking but managing a small and friendly smile.

T.J. raised an eyebrow at the sight of him before gesturing with his head for Cyrus to follow him.

The younger boy could feel the instant nervous sweat gather in his forehead when he realized he would have to directly interact with the intimidating captain. He prayed that he didn’t accidentally do something embarrassing and make the other put him on some kind of hit list.

He followed T.J. to a closet in the corner of the gym. Without bothering to look at Cyrus, he started to speak.

“You’ll have to get the equipment out before every practice,” he said as he unlocked the doors and pulled them open.

Entering the closet, he immediately headed towards a metal cart with a few basketballs inside it.

This time, he finally looked at Cyrus, looking bored as he explained.

“You have to use this cart to grab everything you need.” He pointed to some orange cones. “Grab the cones.” He lifted a blue mesh bag holding neon yellow jerseys of the same material. “And the scrimmage jerseys.” He tossed the cones and the bag of jerseys into the cart. “Got all that Mr. Manager?”

Cyrus nodded. He wasn’t sure what a scrimmage was, but at least he knew what to get.

“It’s Cyrus, actually,” he offered.

T.J. smirked, but didn’t comment.

“I think Coach wants you to inflate the basketballs from over the summer.”

He pointed to an entire wall shelf full of half deflated basketballs. Cyrus’ shoulders drooped as he inwardly groaned. It would take forever to inflate all of those.

“Welcome to the team, Mr. Manager.” T.J. said, clapping his shoulder before heading out to rejoin the other players.

“It’s Cyrus!” Cyrus called after him but the Captain continued to walk away.

He sighed to himself before grabbing a few of the deflated basketballs and putting them in the cart.

-

Ten minutes later, Cyrus found himself sitting cross-legged on a bench in the corner, a horde of deflated basketballs surrounding him. He had to use a hand pump for each one since, for some reason no one knew, it was the only air pump in the entire equipment closet.

Though, he had to admit, he felt a strange sense of accomplishment when he noticed the slowly growing mound of perfectly inflated basketballs, ready to make their way in the hands of expert players.

At least from his position, he was able to freely watch the players (read: Jonah). Coach Mullen mostly had them doing running or stamina-based drills while they waited for Cyrus to inflate enough basketballs for a different activity.

He had only a couple of balls left to inflate when Coach Mullen walked over to him and looked over his handiwork.

“Great job, Goodman,” the man praised before calling the attention of the team.

He had them pair off and split into groups of two and had Cyrus hand out the ready basketballs to each pair. One at a time, each were to practice their passes, going down the length of the gym. If they missed a pass, they had to go back to the starting line and do it all over again.

When it was Jonah and his partner’s turn, Cyrus paid close attention, admiring the cute determined face his friend was making.

Just then, a tall shadow blocked his view, making him lose sight of the dimpled boy.

“I need a new ball.”

Cyrus looked up to see T.J., looking down at him, expectantly. All of his thoughts stopped for a moment, his mind going blank as he looked up at him. Finally, the taller boy’s words registered.

“Oh. Um, what’s wrong with that one?” Cyrus asked curiously, hoping T.J. didn’t notice his hesitation.

The Captain shrugged. “I dunno, it needs more air or something.”

Cyrus’ face screwed up in confusion. He had made sure all the basketballs got equal air with the pressure gauge on the pump, but he didn’t want to argue with the captain on his first day as team manager. So, he quietly took the ball back and gave T.J. a new one.

T.J. bounced it once, then gave Cyrus a nod and smirk before rushing back to the rest of the team.

Curiously, Cyrus bounced the ball T.J. rejected, but could feel no difference from the rest he already inflated. He gave it a bit more air, just in case.

-

Finally, Cyrus finished inflating the rest of the basketballs, right on time for Coach Mullen to announce that they were doing layups.

Based on Cyrus’ observation, it was a move that had each player dribbling up close to the basket before jumping to shoot the ball using only one arm.

It looked difficult and complicated but Cyrus couldn’t help but marvel at how graceful the players were as they leapt towards the basket. He worried a little for Jonah when he noticed the dip in height where he stood in line, waiting his turn.

He eagerly waited, wanting to see Jonah jump in the air and shoot, but from the corner of his eye, he spied T.J. running over to him from his spot at the end of the line.

“I need a different ball,” he said, holding out an entirely different ball than the one Cyrus had given him earlier.

Cyrus’ brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“The grip’s faded,” T.J. smirked.

Cyrus looked at the ball and thought it looked just as good as the others, but didn’t know what a grip was to argue.

So he just sighed and took the ball and tossed it in the cart. He looked around the floor for the newest looking one he could find and handed it over to the smirking Captain.

“Thanks, Mr. Manager.”

Cyrus pouted at the nickname, which only made T.J.’s smirk grow as he ran back to the quickly diminishing line for his turn.

Cyrus’ pout deepened when he realized that he missed Jonah’s turn.

-

Cyrus spent a good amount of practice just sitting and watching. He didn’t mind since he got to watch Jonah but he was feeling a bit bored. So when Coach Mullen finally asked him to set up the cones in a line down the middle of the gym, he determinedly did so, making sure each were linear and had equal distance.

Then, Coach Mullen handed him a stopwatch so he could keep time on how long each player took to move and say the times out loud so the man could record them in his clipboard.

So, while the players zig zagged in between the cones while dribbling, Cyrus closely kept his eye on the times, saying them out in a clear voice. He had to admit, it was building his confidence bit-by-bit.

It wasn’t the most exciting drill, but Coach explained that he wanted to get a feel for each player’s individual skills. For the most part, all the boys got around the same time, around a minute and 20 seconds.

Finally, it was Jonah’s turn. Cyrus thought he heard a comment from someone, but ignored it in favor of watching Jonah, while making sure to keep his eye on the stopwatch. As soon as Jonah took off, Cyrus could already tell that he was one of the fastest. And when he reached the end of the line where Cyrus and Coach were standing, the stopwatch showed that he was about 3 seconds faster than anyone who had already gone.

“Nice work, Jonah,” Coach praised with an approving smile.

Jonah and Cyrus beamed at each other and high fived before Jonah joined the others who had finished.

There were only a few boys left and none of them beat Jonah’s time.

At last, only T.J. was left. The Captain had his signature smirk on, as if he knew that he was saved as the best for last.

As soon as Coach Mullen blew his whistle, he was off. Eyes widening in surprise, Cyrus couldn’t believe how fast he managed to slip through the cones, while never losing control of the ball. He didn’t even look like he was aware that there were obstacles in front of him.

When he reached the end, Cyrus quickly pressed his thumb on the stopwatch button and let out a clear gasp.

A minute and 12 seconds. He beat Jonah’s time by a whole 5 seconds!

T.J. smiled smugly as he did a bro handshake with one of his friends before joining the rest of the team who were now gathering in front of Coach Mullen.

“Alright, excellent work today, everyone. Usually, we end practice with a short practice game, but since I’m still figuring out how you, guys, can best work together, we’ll end this practice with a homework assignment, instead.”

The team groaned in unison.

“I want you all to shave off at least 2 seconds from your times.”

T.J.’s smug smile dropped as he looked at the Coach in disbelief.

Cyrus heard Jonah snort, but was only able to tell because he knew Jonah’s voice anywhere. Jonah quickly schooled his face as T.J. glared at the rest of his teammates, trying to find the perpetrator.

“You’re dismissed! See you all on Thursday.” Coach Mullen turned to Cyrus and tossed him the keys to the supply closet. “Manager, I leave clean up to you.”

With that, the man headed off to the back of the gym, presumably to his office. Meanwhile, the other players headed off to the locker rooms to shower and change.

“Cy, I’ll meet you here, okay?” Jonah said before following his teammates out.

Cyrus sighed and looked around at the mess in the gym. Basketballs and orange cones were scattered everywhere. The players had discarded their sweaty scrimmage jerseys in a pile on the floor for him to pick up. This was what he signed up for.

Taking a deep breath (and ignoring the stench of sweat), Cyrus squared his shoulders and got to work.

He began gathering the cones, piling them on top of each other before heading to the corner of the gym where he left the cart. He placed the cones in there before taking the cart by the handle bars and wheeling it to the center of the court. Then, he began picking up the discarded basketballs, humming to himself as he did so.

“So, how was your first day, Mr. Manager?” the familiar voice interrupted his musings.

Cyrus placed the balls he had gathered in his arms into the cart before turning to meet the Captain’s amused face.

“Not too bad,” he replied, politely. “You did great too, Captain.”

“Of course, I did,” was the cocky reply.

Cyrus tried not to roll his eyes.

“What do you think of the team?” T.J. continued to ask as he picked up a basketball from the floor and tossed it into the cart. And, of course, it went in.

Cyrus shrugged. “You guys were good.”

“Is that it?”

Cyrus furrowed his brows. “What else am I supposed to say?”

T.J. grabbed two basketballs and this time, he walked towards Cyrus to place them in the cart.

“You’re the team manager now. You’re supposed to get to know each player, know their strengths and weaknesses and help them get better.”

“I thought I was just supposed to clean up after you,” Cyrus replied and to demonstrate his point, he turned his back on the other boy and gathered up more basketballs into his arm.

“Well, that too.” T.J. tilted his head to the side, looking curious all of a sudden. “You know, you sound like you don’t even want to be the team manager.”

“Of course I do!” Cyrus defended, feeling his cheeks turn red with fury. “I wouldn’t have tried out for it if I didn’t.”

“Well, to be fair, there were only two of you, so you would have gotten it, either way,” T.J. pointed out, smugly and if Cyrus was a vindictive person, he would have thrown a basketball at his smug face.

But, he wasn’t so he settled for simply glaring as he approached the cart again but found that he had no more words for the Captain so he just stayed silent.

T.J. chuckled. “Well, Mr. Manager, you have a lot to learn about what it takes to be a part of this team.” He took some of the basketballs from Cyrus’ hold and placing them in the cart. “Don’t forget to give Coach the keys after you lock up.”

With a final smirk, T.J. walked away, his confident steps infuriating Cyrus even more.

What did he know?! Cyrus wanted this job and he was going to be hella good at it! He would show him!

With new determination, the teen cleaned up the rest of the basketballs before gathering the scrimmage jerseys and throwing them into the bag where they belonged. He pushed the cart to the equipment closet and replaced everything back into their proper places before locking up. Then, he went to Coach Mullen’s office to return the keys.

“Great job today, Cyrus,” the man praised.

Cyrus couldn’t help but preen at the compliment. “Thank you, sir. Is there anything else you need from me?”

“Just one question.” Coach Mullen looked serious all of a sudden. “Do you know much about basketball? At all?”

Cyrus hesitated.

“You won’t be fired, I promise. But, I need to know because there’s more to this job than just setting up and cleaning up after practice.”

“No, sir,” he finally admitted. “I mean, I can learn! Jonah’s my friend. He can teach me anything I need to know.”

Coach Mullen nodded, looking satisfied. “Good. Because one of the reasons I skipped the practice game today is because I need to be sure you are aware of the game’s point system. So, that’s your homework for Thursday.”

Point system? There was a point system?!

Cyrus nodded, still confused but Coach finally let him go.

It didn’t take too long for Jonah to finish in the locker room, so Cyrus was ready to go when he returned to the gym.

They were both rather hungry so they figured a short trip to The Spoon before heading home would do them good.

As they walked, T.J. and the Coach’s words kept swirling in Cyrus’ mind. He had to admit to himself that when Jonah proposed the idea, he simply thought it just meant bringing the team snacks, cleaning up after them, and cheering them on from the sidelines.

Was there really more to it than that? Did he bite off more than he could chew?

“You okay there, Cy-Guy?” Jonah asked out of the blue, breaking his musings.

Cyrus turned to him, unable to hide his worry. “Jonah, can you help me?”

Chapter Text

“... so if the player is in this area and makes a field goal, how many points is that?”

“Um… three?”

“No, Cyrus, that’s only if they go beyond the 3-point line. This part is within the line.”

“Which is… where again?”

“It’s this line here.” Jonah pointed to a line in the drawing he had made of a basketball court in the back of his English notebook.

Cyrus groaned and slammed his head on the table in front of him. He and Jonah had been at The Spoon for half an hour already. They had gone straight there after school so Jonah could go over the point system with Cyrus so he could be ready for practice the next day.

It seemed so simple but for some reason, Cyrus kept messing up the points. For one, there were so many terms to remember!

Field goals. Three-point lines. Layups. Jump shots. Free throws. Foul shots. Slam dunks. He was pretty sure two of those were the same thing.

Who knew that there were 3 different types of points for each different shot and from various locations on the court?! He thought if someone got a basket, that was one point. Wasn’t that easier?!

“It’s because 3-point shots are harder to make than 2-point shots and free throws are only a point because they’re easy,” Jonah had explained when Cyrus whined about it earlier.

It made sense but it didn’t mean he liked it. And he still had to learn all the different positions, the types of fouls, and the violations. He was going to prove that he could be the best team manager in the history of Shadyside high school basketball!

“If you want, I can make a cheat sheet-.”

“No cheat sheets!” Cyrus lifted his head. “I can do this. I just… need to remember which is what and what point goes with what.”

“Cyrus, it’s really simple. Beyond the 3-point line is 3 points. Within the 3-point line is 2 points. And foul shots are 1 point.”

“Right. Three points, 2 points, and 1 point… where’s the line again?”

Jonah sighed, clearly exasperated from explaining the same things over and over again. Cyrus could only feel guilty.

“Forget it, Jonah, I’m hopeless,” he said, miserably taking a sip of his chocolate milkshake.

“Don’t give up, Cy,” comforted Jonah with a small smile. “Here, I’ll mark it up for you, okay? You can use it as a guide tomorrow.”

Cyrus had no choice but to give in and let him make the cheat sheet. He had no idea why he couldn’t get such a simple point system when he could easily answer Physics equations like no one’s business. Maybe he just really wasn’t cut out for anything sports-related. Or maybe he just needed to watch a game and figure it out himself.

“Here.”

Jonah tore up the page and handed him the marked up sheet and Cyrus scanned the simple sketch. His dimpled friend had written a simple 1 at a line in front of the net, a 2 inside the arc he made, and a 3 outside the arc.

Seemed simple enough. Perhaps this cheat sheet could help after all. Jonah had even listed the types of shots in the corner of the page.

Jump shots = 2 or 3 points
Layups = 2 points
Dunk shots/Slam dunk = 2 points
Free throws/Foul shots = 1 point

“Thanks, Jonah,” he said, gratefully as he tucked the tucked the sketch in between his binder. “Maybe we can go over team positions now?”

Jonah appeared to hesitate. “Actually, I should really head home now. I got a ton of homework.” He looked apologetic as Cyrus’ face fell. “Maybe we can go over it quickly tomorrow before practice?”

“I have to set up.”

“I can help! I’ll meet you at the gym.”

Spending time with Jonah before practice? Who was he to say “no” to that?

Cyrus felt himself smile as he nodded. “Okay!” he agreed.

He couldn’t wait.

-

The following week, after much studying, Cyrus had finally gotten the point system down and was feeling rather confident. He even managed to help the Coach redo the times from last week. Only about ⅔ of the team had managed to get a faster time, even less with the whole 2 seconds.

While Cyrus was busy grabbing the scrimmage jerseys in the equipment closet for the last part of practice, he heard a voice suddenly stand out from the rest.

“That little bitch of a manager keeps staring at us during drills,” a random senior said.

Another snorted. “What did you expect? Only homos want to be manager, so they can get a free show.”

Cyrus walked up to the door and took a peek outside.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to sneak in the locker room to watch us change yet,” the first one sniggered.

His friend laughed. “That you know! He probably squeezes into one of the lockers to sneak a peek at the goods,” he said obnoxiously, grabbing his crotch to emphasise his point, making his friends face scrunch up in disgust.

“Ugh, gross man you’re creeping me out.”

They both laughed and walked towards where Coach Mullen was waiting.

Meanwhile, Cyrus felt his stomach unpleasantly churning at the comments. He knew the school wasn’t the most progressive when it came to gay kids like him, but most of his classmates had known him since Middle School. He always thought that they accepted him because no one had given him a hard time. At least not since he came out in 8th grade and Buffy punched a guy in English class for calling him the “f” word.

He had been basketball manager for a week and a half now and already started feeling like he was a member of the team. Some of the players were even nice to him. Were all those friendly gestures a lie? Did they make fun of him behind his back?

He was deeply hurt but he didn’t really feel the urge to cry until he saw Jonah.

It was clear that the other boy had heard what his team members had said since he was looking in their direction, a deep frown on his face. However, his friend did nothing, only watched them walk away, disapprovingly, before shaking his head and rejoining the rest of the team gathering around the coach.

Cyrus couldn’t stop the feeling of betrayal taking over when he realized that Jonah wasn’t going to stand up for him. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Jonah didn’t do confrontations. He wanted to be liked by everyone.

Pulling himself together as quickly as possible, Cyrus hurriedly got the jerseys and ran out to the court to stand at Coach Mullen’s side, ready to hand them out.

He had come a long way since the 8th grade and he wasn’t going to let a few homophobic comments derail him from his goal.

-

The practice game was almost over and T.J. had the ball. As he bounded towards the net, there was suddenly a collision of bodies.

Cyrus’ mouth dropped when he realized it was the senior from earlier who was now writhing on the floor, clutching his arm as the Coach rushed over. The man touched the teen’s arm and the senior let out a pained yelp. Coach Mullen, then, turned to T.J. who was idling by.

“What happened?” he demanded.

T.J. pointed at the boy on the ground, accusingly. “He was in my way!” he defended himself.

“Bench! Now!” Coach boomed.

“What?! But-”

“I will speak to you later,” he said to him, sternly, before telling two other players to help their teammate to the Nurse’s office.

T.J. scowled but didn’t dare argue further.

Cyrus couldn’t help but watch as T.J. begrudgingly walked to the bench. He thought he saw the tall teen glance at him from the corner of his eye, but it was too quick to know for sure.

Either way, the senior got his karma and it put Cyrus in a much better mood for the rest of practice.

-

As the team started their trek to the locker rooms, Cyrus started his usual clean up. While gathering basketballs into his arms, he spied Coach Mullen reprimanding T.J. and couldn’t help but overhear.

“You’re the Captain, T.J.! You should be setting an example!”

“I know, sir, I’m sorry.” T.J. said easily.

He seemed to know better than to argue. Smart guy.

“You better get your act together, Kippen,” Coach threatened before stomping off to his office, clearly frustrated.

T.J. sighed loudly in annoyance. Not quite the confident and cocky basketball guy he normally was.

Cyrus felt a sudden streak of bravery.

“That guy was a dick anyway,” he said in the most casual tone.

T.J.’s eyebrows rose in surprise at Cyrus’ language. He glanced around quickly, like he was looking for proof that it was really Cyrus who said it, making the other boy snort.

At the sound, T.J.’s signature grin returned, looking a bit impressed. “Are you even old enough for that kind of language?” he teased.

“Excuse you, I’m a man. A man that’s turning 16 next month!”

T.J. snorted again and his lips showed a hint of a smile.

“Anyway,” Cyrus continued. “I can talk to Coach and tell him it wasn’t your fault. I saw the whole thing.”

“Yeah, I mean I didn’t really do anything wrong,” T.J. said, cockily. “He clearly saw me coming. He should’ve moved out of my way.”

“And he shouldn’t have been standing right under the basket,” Cyrus added, feeling his lips twitch into a smile. “It was obviously his fault.”

“Exactly!” T.J. said and they beamed at each other, like they just shared an inside joke.

Cyrus noticed it was the first time he saw T.J. smile. A real smile and not a smirk. It looked good on him.

“Well, I’ll see ya later, Mr. Manager.”

T.J. gave him a nod before strutting off towards the locker rooms.

-

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Cyrus asked Jonah out of the blue.

They were walking home like they normally did after practice.

Smiling like usual, Jonah’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Huh?”

Cyrus sighed. “You heard what those guys said about me, but you didn’t do or say anything.”

To say that Cyrus was still feeling hurt from earlier was an understatement. The annoying ache in his chest wouldn’t leave him alone and he could barely look at Jonah, even if the boy was walking right next to him.

Jonah may try to swerve, but Cyrus needed to talk about it.

“You heard that? They’re my teammates. What was I supposed to do?” the other boy replied with a frown.

“But, I’m your best friend!” Cyrus exclaimed in disbelief.

Jonah looked down, looking ashamed. “You’re right. I should've at least told them off.” He looked up, green eyes connecting deeply with Cyrus’. “I’m sorry, Cyrus,” he said, sincerely.

Cyrus still felt hurt, but knew there was no point in dragging this out. “It’s fine,” he replied, sighing.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Jonah said, quickly, his smile back on his face. “Let’s go to The Spoon, I’ll buy you as many baby taters as you want.”

Cyrus smiled a small smile. “Okay.”

He knew he could never stay mad at his friends anyway.

“I’ll text Buffy and Andi,” he added, already taking his phone out.

After everything that happened, he felt that he just really needed them right now. Though they still saw each other every day in school, it felt like they hadn’t hung out in forever. He missed them.

And, even though he was always happy to spend time with Jonah, he couldn’t bring himself to be alone with him for a while.

He still felt betrayed and frankly, disappointed.

-

“Oh, and guess where Walker is taking me this weekend?” Andi asked her friends, excitedly.

Beside her, said boyfriend just beamed adoringly at her.

Cyrus couldn’t help his own smile as he watched the two of them. “Where?” he supplied.

“I’m taking her to this art show at the art gallery,” Walker answered. “I think she’ll love it. Modern art meets vegetables!”

Silence hung over them. Cyrus took a sip of his milkshake. Buffy stole a baby tater from Marty’s basket. And Jonah just kept smiling, but obviously confused.

“It’s basically art made from vegetables,” Andi explained. “Veggie paintings that look like people.”

“Photos of vegetables that look like everyday objects,” added Walker.

“Modern art meets vegetables!” they chorused, cutely.

“There’s even a section where you can make your own vegetable sculptures!” Andi added excitedly.

Buffy coughed. “Wow, You two really are perfect for each other.”

Andi raised an eyebrow at her. “So, aren’t you and Marty going to that virtual reality arcade this weekend?”

Instantly, Buffy turned red before clearing her throat. “Yeah? We’re friends so we hang out. Duh. Right, Marty?”

Beside her, Marty turned to look at her directly, grinning cutely at Buffy’s denial. “Yeah. Totally.”

Buffy threw a tater at his face.

“Mmhmm, riiight” Andi hummed before turning to Cyrus with a saucy wiggle of her eyebrows. “What about you, Cy? Are you and Jonah doing anything fun this weekend?”

Cyrus felt a warm feeling at the way she phrased the question, as if he and Jonah were also going on a date. Before he could answer, Jonah beat him to the punch.

“We don’t have any plans, but since you guys seem busy.” He turned to Cyrus with a giant smile. “Movies at my place this weekend, Cy-Guy? Just like old times.”

Old times. When he and Jonah were growing up, they had weekend movie marathons. Their last one was in 6th grade, before their lives got so busy that they just didn’t have time. Cyrus felt the warm feeling grow stronger.

Was it a date? Cyrus could pretend it was a date. Andi and Buffy were going on dates.

“It’s a date!” he bravely managed, grinning back at the other boy.

Jonah laughed and shook his head. “You crack me up,” he stated before reaching for his milkshake.

Cyrus felt his mood fall just a little but Jonah was smiling that cute smile that made his heart flutter. He really couldn’t stay mad at him. Besides they were still going to hang out like they used to!

Meanwhile, Andi and Buffy both shot Cyrus amazed smiles and he couldn’t really blame them. Even he was surprised at his own bravery.

Nonetheless, he couldn’t wait for the weekend!

-

By the next practice, things seemed to go back to usual. Cyrus hadn’t heard any more mean comments from the team, Coach Mullen was impressed with his progress and how neat he made everything, and he was looking forward to spending some quality time with his attractive best friend.

But something was missing.

Cyrus glanced towards the members warming up. There was a distinct lack of optimistic dimples being shot his way.

Where was Jonah?

Glancing at Coach Mullen to see him busy going through some charts, Cyrus sneakily took out his phone and typed up a quick text.

Where are you???? He sent it before stuffing the phone back into his pocket.

Jonah’s response didn’t take too long.

dentist appointment. i totally forgot about it :P. Don’t worry coach already knows :)

Cyrus sighed in relief. It was okay, Jonah was just at an appointment. But, then, he felt himself frown. Why didn’t Jonah tell him he wasn’t going to be at practice that day? Did he seriously just leave Cyrus to walk home alone after practice? Not to mention, he was alone in a roomful of basketball players who made fun of him just a few days ago.

Sighing in frustration but knowing there was nothing he could do to change the situation, Cyrus decided to just let it go. Besides, he had a job to do.

Just as Coach started explaining their first drill, T.J. burst through the doors and jogged up to join the rest of his teammates.

The Captain was late. Again.

Coach Mullen silently glared at T.J. for several minutes, clearly unhappy. But, eventually, he sighed and went back to explaining the drill, choosing not to berate the latecomer that day.

-

“Hey, Mr. Manager. Where’s your friend?”

Cyrus paused from his task of stacking up the orange cones and looked up.

Practice was now over. The rest of the team had all headed for the locker room…except for the Captain.

T.J. looked down at him, expectantly as he waited for Cyrus to answer.

“Dentist appointment,” he answered, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice at the reminder of Jonah’s abandonment.

“Ahh. Don’t you two usually head out together?” T.J. continued asking.

Cyrus shrugged as he went back to stacking cones. “Can’t be helped. Guess I’m walking home alone today.”

T.J. paused, his head tilted to the side contemplatively as he waited for Cyrus to finish up his task.

“I can give you a ride if you want,” he casually said all of a sudden.

Cyrus gaped in shock.

What?

-

Silently, the Captain and the Team Manager made their way towards the student parking lot.

He initially thought T.J. had been joking but to Cyrus’ surprise, he came back after showering and getting changed. He had seen the Captain in normal clothes before, but it had been a while.

Cyrus couldn’t help but notice that Normal T.J. looked completely different from Captain T.J. Captain T.J. was proud and haughty and appeared to be above everyone else. But Normal T.J. was just… simple. Plain old red shirt, faded jeans, and worn out Converse sneakers. He seemed more… real.

And as he followed the older teen to his car, the image of Normal T.J. became more and more at the forefront.

For one, Cyrus expected some kind of flashy wannabe sports car to match his confident and cocky persona. But, to his surprise, the car that awaited them was the complete opposite.

It was a blue, beat-up Honda. Cyrus didn’t know much about cars, but even he was sure it wasn’t anything from this year, or the last 10 years. Some of the paint was already chipping and the bottom of the mirror by the passenger side had a small crack. Nonetheless, it was a functioning car and obviously one that T.J. himself can afford to pay if he had a job on the side.

The older boy unlocked the doors and Cyrus felt his nerves build as he slid into the passenger seat. For the first time since he met him, he was spending alone time with T.J. in an enclosed space for at least the 15-minute drive to his house.

What if he said something weird? Or gay?

It could be surprisingly hard not to say something gay sometimes. He had accidentally outed himself to Bex when he was helping Andi organize her closet and he made a hilarious joke about being inside and then outside of the closet. He was still quite proud of that joke whenever he remembered the incident.

T.J. turned the ignition on, the loud rumbling of the car pulling Cyrus out of his thoughts.

And then… Ariana Grande’s signature voice immediately blasted from the speakers.

Cyrus’ mouth dropped. Slowly, he turned his head to look at T.J. The Captain was frozen in his seat, hands clutching the wheel as he blankly stared straight ahead.

“Is that…” Cyrus began before deciding not to state the obvious.

T.J. had turned pink and the blush was slowly starting to spread across his cheeks.

“Yeah, so? It’s just the radio!” he defended.

Cyrus looked down at the radio, where TRACK 7 was displayed, before looking back at T.J. with a lifted brow.

“S-She’s a good singer, alright?!” T.J. stammered before swerving out of his spot and peeling out of the parking lot.

Cyrus held up his hands in surrender, his lips twitching into an amused smile. “Hey, I’m not judging. In fact, I agree with you. She has a remarkable high range, but still manages to keep her material accessible and modern.”

“And her live vocals are on point! None of that lip-syncing crap other singers do.”

He sounded rather passionate. Aside from basketball, Cyrus had never seen T.J. get excited about anything else.

That was quite a surprise.

“You went to her concert, didn’t you?” Cyrus asked with a wide grin.

T.J. blushed harder. “My parents got the tickets,” he mumbled.

“I’m so jealous, I’ve never been to a concert before! How was it? Was she amazing? Did you get a souvenir?” Cyrus rambled.

Knowing this sensitive side of the usual intimidating guy, Cyrus finally felt comfortable enough to try to have a conversation with him. The fear of having nothing to talk about quickly fading.

T.J. said nothing for a moment, then quickly glanced at Cyrus before facing the road again.

“You never told me which way to go,” he stated.

Caught off-guard, Cyrus briefly looked out T.J.’s window to see where they were. “Oh, um, just drive straight for a while, and turn left at the McDonald’s. It'll be the big blue house with lots of windows”

Cyrus sat back in his seat when he realized that in his eagerness, he had started leaning towards T.J.

Had he pushed him too hard? Was he too eager?

T.J. cleared his throat. “It was really cool,” he said. “I went with my sister… and I bought a hoodie.”

Cyrus beamed at T.J. “Was it the one with her face on it? It’s really popular online.”

“Maybe.”

“Cool.”

They sat in silence for a while, Ariana's voice filling in the silence of the car. It wasn’t as awkward as Cyrus expected it to be. In fact, it was quite comfortable. He was feeling relaxed for the first time all day.

And then, he heard it. Cyrus couldn’t believe his ears. It was soft, at first, so he would have missed it if he wasn’t paying attention. But, it was there.

“-nd boooy, got me walkin' side to side.”

T.J. was singing softly under his breath. He probably thought his voice was being drowned out by the music, but Cyrus could hear him clear as day, thanks to his fantastic hearing.

“I've been here all night. I've been here all day. And booooy, got me walkin' side to side.”

“You have a pretty voice,” Cyrus blurted out before he could stop himself.

He felt himself instantly turn red in embarrassment. What was that, Goodman?! he internally yelled at himself.

Meanwhile, T.J. had stopped singing and cleared his throat. “Pretty? Really? Of all the words to use, you pick ‘pretty’?”

For a moment there, Cyrus thought T.J. was angry. But, looking closely, the Captain had a blush on, much deeper than the one he sported when Ariana's voice blasted from the speakers.

So Cyrus just chuckled. “So, what other music do you listen to?”

T.J. seemed relieved at the change of topic. “A little bit of everything. Some Drake here. Panic! At The Disco there.” He appeared to hesitate before saying, “I listen to a little K-pop too.”

Cyrus’ eyes widened. THAT was definitely unexpected.

T.J. glanced at him. “Don’t look at me like that. Big Bang is really good workout music!’

“Not judging, I swear!” Cyrus defended. “It was just… unexpected.”

“Whatever we discuss here does not leave this car. Got it, Mr. Manager?”

Cyrus frowned. “It won’t… if…”

T.J.’s brow furrowed. “If?”

“If you stop calling me Mr. Manager. I have a name, you know. It’s Cyrus. Cy-Rus. Repeat after me. Cyyy-Rus.”

At that, T.J. let out a laugh. “No deal, man. Mr. Manager sounds cooler. Like a super alter-ego or something.”

Cyrus huffed. “Just for that, I’ll have to just keep calling you Captain.”

T.J. shrugged. “Fine with me.”

“You’ll never hear me say your name. Ever. You’ll be known as ‘Captain’ forever. Captain Scary Basketball Guy.”

T.J. frowned. “I’m not that scary,” he protested.

“Fine. Then, Captain Not So Scary Basketball Guy.”

To Cyrus’ glee, the Captain laughed. A genuine laugh full of humor and genuine joy. It was a pretty sound and it made T.J.'s face look softer.

When he wasn’t being a snobby sourpuss with an inflated ego, T.J. was pretty easy to get along with. Cyrus never thought in a million years that they would have this kind of conversation.

It was nice.

Not even realizing how much time has passed and how long his ride had been driving, they finally arrived at Cyrus’ house.

He gathered his things before turning to T.J. with a grateful smile. “Thank you for the ride, Captain.”

And for the first time since he had known him, T.J.’s lips lifted into a soft smile.

“Anytime, Mr. Manager” he replied before holding out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

Confused, yet feeling he could trust the other teen now, Cyrus wordlessly unlocked his phone and handed it to him. T.J. took it and tapped the screen a couple of times before returning it.

“If you need a ride, just let me know,” he stated with his signature smirk.

Cyrus blinked. That was unexpected. Again.

“T-Thanks,” he managed. “Um… see ya around then.”

“See ya.”

Grabbing his things, Cyrus got out of the car and beelined for his front door. Before going in, he spared another glance at the car. T.J. didn’t leave yet.

Cyrus gave him one last wave and T.J. saluted him in response.

As soon as he was inside, Cyrus checked his phone.

There was a new contact: Captain Not So Scary Basketball Guy.

Wow. His day did not go the way he expected. Yet, it wasn’t a terrible day, at all. And, Cyrus believed that he unintentionally just made a new friend.

Chapter Text

The team had just started the first drill for practice when the door slammed open and close. Everyone looked in the direction of the noise to see the Captain quickly making his way towards them.

“THAT’S IT, KIPPEN!” Coach yelled, his face flushed in anger. “You’re suspended from practice!”

T.J.’s eyes widened as his mouth fell open in disbelief. “What?! But that’s not-”

“What? Not fair? You think the rest of the team showing up on time while the captain waltzes in whenever he feels like is fair?”

T.J. said nothing in response, choosing to glare at the floor with his jaw and fists clenched.

“Now, I still expect you to show up to practice,” Coach Mullen continued in a calmer tone. “You can start playing again when you learn how to tell time. Now, go enjoy the bench, that’s your new home.”

Cyrus wanted to do something, anything, to help. But, all he could do was watch as T.J. walked in clear silent anger towards the bench.

-

While the team took a water break before their usual end-of-practice game, Cyrus took the chance to check on T.J.

He knew that the Captain actually cared about the team so he had a feeling that there was more to the older boy being late just for the sake of being late. Besides, T.J. had been there for him when he needed him before, and if there was one thing a shrink’s kid can do, it was to listen. His four parents would be so proud.

T.J. appeared to have calmed since the ordeal, but his leg was bouncing and he was squeezing his fists together.

Cyrus walked up to him and asked, “Hey, are you okay?”

T.J. just looked at Cyrus a moment. “Do…” His voice was strained so he cleared his throat and tried again. “Do you want a ride home?”

Getting the message, Cyrus nodded. “Yeah, sure. I just have to tell Jonah first.”

T.J. nodded back as he got on his feet. “Cool, I’ll go change real quick. Tell coach if he asks.”

Practice ended and the rest of the team headed to the locker room.

While Cyrus was cleaning up, the Captain had come back, all dressed and ready, and silently started helping him until they were all done.

Cyrus thanked him, but he barely nodded in response, simply grabbing his things and heading out the door. So the younger boy grabbed his things too and jogged after him.

-

Five minutes had passed since they left the school parking lot and T.J. still hadn’t said anything. The Captain was silent during the walk to the car, while they got settled, and as he pulled out of the parking space and onto the road.

The quiet atmosphere made Cyrus nervous. Had he gotten the message wrong? Maybe T.J. didn’t want to talk, after all?

“Are you okay?” he managed in a soft voice.

T.J. suddenly swerved to park in an empty space by a couple of cars lining the side of the street, causing Cyrus’ heart to palpitate in fear.

“IT’S NOT! FUCKING! FAIR!” T.J. yelled, hitting the steering wheel with each word.

Woah T.J. was beyond mad. He was pissed!

And Cyrus didn’t really know how to act around someone this upset. His parents always made it a point never to fight in front of him and even his friends knew not to lash out at him because of how sensitive he was.

He was feeling little scared as his nerves intensified, but he knew deep down that the Captain wouldn’t actually hurt him.

T.J. was obviously upset and he needed a hearing ear.

“It’s all my math teacher’s fault! He kept holding me back after class, even after I told him he was making me late for practice!”

T.J. was glaring straight ahead, never looking in Cyrus’ direction.

And the latter knew he had to approach this delicately. Lucky for them both, delicate was his specialty.

“Well, what does he talk to you about that makes you late?” he asked, gently.

T.J. took a deep breath then exhaled slowly, sitting back in his seat with one hand on the steering wheel and the other running frustratedly through his hair, messing it up.

He still wasn’t looking at Cyrus as he replied, “I’m a dumb jock. What do you think?”

Cyrus let out a soft gasp, shocked to hear the usually confident guy talking about himself in such a way.

“You’re not dumb, T.J.,” he said, immediately. “You know how to do plenty of other things besides math.” He hesitated before asking, “Are you failing any of your other classes?”

T.J. appeared to be contemplating, his forehead scrunched in thought.

“... No. It’s just math. It’s always been stupid math. I usually get someone else to do it for me or cheat or something, but this teacher is way too strict this year.”

Cyrus chose not to comment on the fact that the Captain intimidated and cheated his way up the grades. Who was he to judge? It wasn’t like T.J. was the only one who did it and Cyrus was no snitch.

“Well, if you’ve always struggled in just math, maybe you could get a tutor.”

“I’ve tried. They don’t help. They just make me feel even more stupid… One of them called me ‘careless’ because I didn’t care about getting the right answer.”

T.J. swallowed as the hand on the steering wheel tightened its hold, making his knuckles white.

“I don’t know why. I mean… I get the concept in class but when I try to do it… I just… can’t. I look at the numbers but they don’t make sense! And everyone else can read graphs just fine but it just looks like a giant box with lines to me!!”

The more Cyrus listened to T.J. rant, the closer he got to the same conclusion. He didn’t want to assume because he was aware of the stigma. But, what if T.J., himself, wasn’t aware of the possibility?

He, internally, debated with himself.

When T.J. stopped ranting to catch his breath, Cyrus decided to go ahead and do it. It was for T.J.’s own good.

“T.J., have you ever wondered if… maybe… you may have some sort of learning disorder? I mean, it’s not uncommon and you can get help to-.”

T.J.’s head snapped in Cyrus’ direction. The anger in the jock’s eyes made Cyrus’ words trail off.

“What?! You think I have a disorder?!” he growled. “What about you ? You’re the manager and I bet you can’t even dribble a damn ball!”

Okay, that hurt.

Cyrus tried not to take it personally. He knew T.J. was just frustrated… and possibly, scared. A learning disorder was not the easiest thing to accept.

“....Look, I'm sorry if I offended you but I'm just trying to help. I'd appreciate it if you didn't take your anger out on me.” He hesitated before adding in a kinder tone, “And it’s nothing to be ashamed about. Really. You’re not alone.”

T.J. banged his head back against the headrest and took several deep breaths.

For a moment, all was silent. Neither said a word.

Finally, T.J. sighed loudly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to take it out on you,” he said, softly. “Seriously, it wasn't cool. I just need to cool off right now. Usually I would shoot hoops but…” he trailed off with an eye roll.

Cyrus looked out the window and noticed they were actually parked by a small playground with a swing set and a little obstacle course with a slide. He must have walked by it everyday on his way to and from school with Jonah, but since he was always concentrated on the other boy, he never noticed it. He had a feeling he'd never be able to ignore it again.

He turned to T.J. and grinned. “Wanna go swing?”

At the tall teen’s questioning look, Cyrus got out of the car and started walking with sure strides towards the swingset. He heard a car door slam shut behind him as he plopped down on one of the seats and began kicking his legs. The Captain appeared in front of him, watching with amusement before taking the swing beside him.

Soon, they were both swinging.

When Cyrus was in middle school, he often got anxiety attacks. To calm down, he would go to the swings. It was his happy place. When he started high school, the work and his social life had managed to keep him occupied so he hadn’t gone back...until today.

As Cyrus gently swung, he watched from the corner of his eye as T.J.’s uneasy frown turned into a small smirk and then a genuine smile with each swing, getting higher each time he kicked his legs. Then, he yelled “Cherry Bomb!” when he reached the highest peak, before slamming back into his seat as he swooped back down, making the whole set shake.

Cyrus let out a squeak before finding himself laughing at the other teen’s childish act. He felt extremely proud of himself at the sight. He had helped the Captain feel better... or at least, forget his troubles for a while.

T.J. leaped off the swing while it was still in the air. Cyrus found himself impressed at the daring trick until the other was suddenly behind him, grabbing his swing.

“Um, what are you doing?”

“Remember underdogs?”

Cyrus could feel the heat from the teen on his back. “What’s an underdog?”

“This.” T.J. ran back, pulling Cyrus with him, then suddenly ran forward. Cyrus felt an unexpected rush of adrenaline surge through him as T.J. ran under him pushing him faster and higher than he'd ever gone on a swing. The world became a blur in front of his eyes for a few seconds, disorienting him.

As his vision cleared and his swinging returned to a gentle pace, he was greeted with T.J.’s grinning face in front of him.

“Wow! That was surprisingly exhilarating!” he exclaimed, his cheeks hurting from smiling so much.

T.J. laughed. “You've seriously never done that before?”

Cyrus shrugged. “I wasn’t much for playing outdoors as a kid. Very much into reading books, especially ones starring reptiles and dinosaurs. My favorite’s the Brontosaurus after Land Before Time .”

“That’s cool. I always wanted a snake or an iguana but my mom would never let me.”

T.J. leaned against the pole closest to Cyrus and just watched him. He seemed to be over swinging now but he was definitely in a much better mood.

“So...How come you never texted me?” he asked Cyrus.

That was unexpected. T.J. always managed to surprise him. “Oh! I was under the impression that that was for a need-to-ride basis.”

T.J. shrugged and smirked. “I wouldn’t mind hearing from you. Maybe we could hang out sometime.”

Cyrus tried his hardest not to do that thing where he blushed around any cute guy that was nice to him but unfortunately, his body betrayed him. He could feel his ears heating up.

“Yeah, okay, sounds fun,” he replied as nonchalantly as he could.

“You’re gonna have to change my contact name now, though.”

Cyrus tilted his head to the side in curiosity. “Hmm? Why?”

T.J.’s smirk widened. “‘Cause you called me T.J.”

-

Since T.J. needed to run a few errands for his mom and was already running late, Cyrus opted to walk the rest of the way home from the playground. He promised to text the other when he arrived safely and bid him goodbye. T.J. had thanked him one last time before they parted and it made Cyrus all giddy as he walked home.

He was always happy to help a friend in need.

When he arrived at his house, he was surprised to find Jonah sitting on the steps, playing with his phone. His face lit up when he saw Cyrus.

“Hey, dude, you’re finally back!” he greeted, standing up and putting his phone away.

Happy, but confused Cyrus replied, “Heeey. Not that I don’t appreciate you coming over, but what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing.” The other boy shrugged. “I guess I wanted to see if everything was alright. It felt weird walking home without you.”

Cyrus tried his best not to overanalyze that last part. “Yeah, everything is fine. T.J. just wanted to talk and you know me, I’m always lending my ears.”

Jonah nodded. “So, what did he want to talk about?”

Cyrus scrunched his nose. “I’m sorry, but it’s T.J.’s business so I can’t tell you.”

“Yeah, alright, I get that.” The boy then smiled, his dimples showing. “Well, do you wanna do something?”

Cyrus heart ached seeing Jonah’s hopeful smile and knowing he’d have to turn him down. There was nothing he’d rather do with his day, but he had responsibilities.

“Sorry, but I can’t. I didn’t finish doing my homework from the weekend.”

Their movie marathon had been a blast, even though it was all superhero movies after Jonah realized that Netflix had added the latest ones to their roster. They still got to joke through them (having a pillow fight while yelling “Hulk Smash!” and “Wakanda Forever!” as often as possible was a special highlight). Cyrus hadn’t really understood what most of the characters were referencing and some of the explosions were a little too much for him, but the jokes and plots were still pretty good and he had a ton of fun.

But, sadly, because of that, he had neglected his homework.

Jonah’s face fell, making Cyrus’ heart twitch with guilt.

“Maybe we can hang out tomorrow?” he offered as compromise.

“Oh, yeah. Okay, well, see ya tomorrow then, Cy.”

Cyrus flashed him a small reassuring smile. “Bye, Jonah.”

His friend stepped forward to give him a hug goodbye (Jonah gave the best hugs! Firm yet comfortable) and just like that, he was gone.

-

It was lunch time and as always, Buffy and Cyrus were together.

“So, how is being the team’s manager going?” she asked him.

Cyrus beamed. “Amazingly! Well, besides one small hiccup but nothing I can’t handle. The Captain even gave me a ride!”

Buffy’s mouth fell open in shock, eyes wide. “The Senior Captain of the Varsity team gave you a ride?”

“Yeah…? Is that so weird?” Cyrus’ brow furrowed.

“You know you’ve been kinda mentioning him a lot.”

“Who? T.J.? Well, he’s the only other guy I really talk to on the team. Besides Jonah, obviously.”

Cyrus picked up a french fry and examined it. It looked safe enough to eat.

“Is he hot?”

Cyrus froze, fry halfway to his mouth. “W-well, aren’t all athletes considered hot?” he stuttered. “They all have those muscles and...and they’re all so tall, with distracting green eyes and stuff. Just like Jonah!” he added, desperately.

Buffy just looked at him, one eyebrow raised. Like she knew there was more. Cyrus sighed.

“It’s just...Yeah he’s hot, but there’s no way I’m going to assume anything. I mean I’m just me. Besides, he won’t even call me by my own name! He keeps calling me Mr. Manager!”

His friend snorted. “Yeah, you’re the one getting pet names and free rides from the Captain! I’m sure he does that with just any random handsome nerdy gay Junior.”

Cyrus blushed a little. “Shut up.” He flinched at his own impoliteness. “I mean, sorry, but please hush.”

There was a pause as he absentmindedly played with his fries.

“I have to admit… When I look at Jonah I still feel the same. When he smiles, I smile, and his dimples, and his eyes, and I would be willing to give up my free time to do sports of all things.”

Buffy tilted her head to the side. “I sense a ‘but’ after that statement.”

Cyrus sighed. “But I think T.J. and I have this kind of…. Pull.”

“Pull?”

“Yeeeah. I can’t think of a better word to describe it, but do you know what I mean?”

Buffy looked off into space for a moment, lost in thought she replied, “Yeah, I do.”

Cyrus breathed out in relief. “So… is that how you feel with Marty?”

“I guess so.”

“So why aren’t you two together already? Everyone knows you like each other, including the both of you. So what are you waiting for?”

Buffy shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess... I don’t want things to change. I like what we have now.”

“But, don’t you want the things that come with that change?”

Buffy blushed, lightly, as she kept her gaze firmly on her juice box.

“I guess so, but what if too much changes and we start acting like Wandi? What if he doesn’t want to be all competitive with me anymore?”

Cyrus could only stare at her with his mouth slightly open. “Buffy, no offense, but that’s stupid. That’s what got you guys together in the first place! Besides, if you wait too long, things are gonna change, whether you like it or not. For example, some other competitive girl comes along and might decide that she does like change… with Marty.”

Buffy glowered at Cyrus.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!” He held his hands up in surrender.

She huffed. “How did we start talking about me anyway? This is about you and your captain.”

“He’s the team Captain.”

Buffy waved away his clarification. “Jonah knows you’ve been gay for as long as anyone can remember, but he has never shown any interest in guys. And all of a sudden you have a hot captain going out of his way to talk to you.”

“And you have a hot track runner who is actually able to keep up with you and your smart mouth.”

Buffy scowled, unhappy at the jibe. “Screw you, we’re witty!”

“Yeah, yeah, you're both so clever. Anyway, thanks Buff, it’s nice to know that I’m not imagining everything.”

This time, she laughed. “Anytime Cy.”

“So should we talk about Wandi now?”

“Ugh. What’s there to talk about? How much they make out in front of us?”

“How they’re bae goals.” Cyrus held up two mini powdered donuts and started imitating Wandi kissing and being couple-y.

Buffy snorted. “Those aren’t even bagels.”

Cyrus pouted. “It’s not breakfast time.”

His best friend then flashed him a teasing grin. “I bet if you ask your Captain, he’d actually bring you bagels.”

Narrowing his eyes, Cyrus threw a piece of french fry at her.

-

Cyrus cleaning up basketballs and stacking orange cones after practice was pretty much routine, at this point. He could probably do it all blindfolded if he wanted to.

Some pesky basketballs had managed to roll on the complete opposite side of the gym from where Cyrus usually parked his trusty metal cart. As he gathered a couple of them in his arms, he heard the squeak of another pair of sneakers.

When he turned back around, T.J. was standing by the cart. He held his hands out.

“Here, toss ‘em over!”

Cyrus instantly froze at the simple request and hesitated. The last time he had tried throwing a basketball in Gym class, he had accidentally hit some poor innocent girl on the face and sent her and her bleeding nose to the nurse’s office.  

Should he take a chance and do what the Captain asked and embarrass himself or be rude and ignore him?

“Um, it’s okay, I’ve got these, but could you grab the cones?” He gestured to a couple with his head.

T.J. chuckled. “What’s the matter? Come on just toss ‘em. You’re closer to the cones anyway.”

Cyrus felt himself blush but nonetheless, decided to compromise. He rolled the basketballs over instead, one-by-one.

T.J. raised his eyebrow and stopped one with his foot. “Can you even make a single free throw?”

Cyrus pursed his lips to the side and shook his head. “I’m not exactly what one would call ‘coordinated’.” He added air quotes with his fingers for effect.

T.J. picked up the ball under his foot before gesturing with his head towards the net. “Come on, I’ll show you. It’s easy.”

Cyrus doubted every word but grabbed a basketball nearby anyway before following the Captain to the line right in front of the basket.

T.J. nudged his elbow with his. “Okay, so first, just watch me. All you have to do is bend your knees, make an L with your arm, jump, then reach into the cookie jar.”

He finished with an arm above his head, his wrist expertly flicking forward, and his hand dangling as the ball soared towards the basket and went right in with a ‘swoosh’.

He turned to Cyrus. “Now, you try.”

The other boy copied his motions to the best of his ability, even making tiny little jumps, but the ball only landed nearly right in front of them and barely touched the ring.

The ball bounced back and T.J. bounded forward to grab it for him. He flashed Cyrus an encouraging smile.

“Not bad! You got the motions right, you just gotta put some more power behind everything. Use those muscles, man!”

Cyrus fought a blush (how could he possibly blush so much?!) as he took the ball from the taller boy’s outstretched hands and tried shooting again.

This time, it managed to hit the rim.

“I hit it!” Cyrus exclaimed, jumping excitedly. “It was this close to actually being a real shot! That I made! Me!”

T.J. smiled broadly at Cyrus’ enthusiasm as he grabbed the ball. “Hell yeah, man! I bet if you did it again, you can actually make it in.”

This time, Cyrus was beaming as he took the ball and tried to shoot again. This time the ball hit the corner of the backboard.

He was pouting and he knew it, especially when T.J. came back with the ball and said, “Hey, don’t give up, man. Here, look, your elbow is sticking out too much.”

Suddenly, T.J. was directly behind him. He brought the ball over Cyrus’ head and directly into his hands, but instead of letting go, he stepped in closer and moved his hands over Cyrus’. The smaller boy’s back was practically pressed to his front.

Cyrus’ heart began to race. Was this really happening? Was he dreaming? Oh my God, Buffy was right!

“Don’t forget to bend your knees,” T.J. said softly into his ear.

Cyrus swallowed, goosebumps forming on his skin as T.J.’s warm breath hit the back of his neck. He resisted the sudden overwhelming need to shiver.

T.J. moved both of their arms into the correct position and added, “You’ve got this, Cyrus.”

Cyrus gasped at the sound of his name and looked back to T.J.

“You…” he started to say but his words got stuck in his throat.

He just noticed how incredibly close the Captain actually was. Cyrus never appreciated how pretty T.J.’s eyes were until he got to see them up close. His green eyes were an array of various shades, flecks of hazel making them stand out under the gym lights. Cyrus watched as those green orbs glanced down momentarily before they returned their gaze up to connect with Cyrus’ brown ones.

The younger’s heart skipped a beat when T.J.’s face seemed to be moving closer and closer. He could feel his own eyes start to flutter.

“Hey, Cy! Sorry I took so... Oh.”

At the sound of the familiar voice, Cyrus jumped away from the arms around him like he had been burned.

The basketball fell to the floor with a soft bounce as Jonah’s wide eyes of shock and disbelief stared at them from across the gym.

Chapter Text

The first sound to break the silence was T.J. sucking his teeth in annoyance, turning his head to face Jonah, clearly upset about being interrupted. The sound seemed to shake Jonah out of his stupor and he jerked back.

“Shit, sorry!” Jonah blinked rapidly still glancing between the two before him. “.....Sorry! I’ll just uh,” he threw a jerky thumb towards the door. “I’ll just be outside.” He gave a weird shaky chuckle, spun on his heel, and was out the door.

“That was weird, right? He’s usually more chill,” TJ commented.

“Yeah, usually.” Cyrus replied, slightly concerned about his friend's odd behavior, but turned back to face T.J. “I should go.”

T.J. was obviously disappointed about how their moment had ended but had a small smile when he opened his arms and quietly asked, “Can I get a hug?”

Cyrus couldn’t help but smile at T.J.’s surprise cuteness as he stepped into the tall boy’s embrace and was quickly surrounded by the warmth of his hoodie. He smelt nice, too, despite being a teenage boy. Almost citrusy.

Soon, he felt a light pressure on his head as T.J. rested his chin on top of it. Cyrus both felt and heard as T.J. took in a deep breath, before moving his head and a different, softer pressure momentarily replaced it.

Wait, was that a kiss?

Cyrus opened his mouth to ask but T.J. was already pulling away with a small smile, distracting him. The Captain had a nice smile, his canines a little pointy...like a puppy.

Cyrus smiled back, his question forgotten and drowning in T.J.’s warm green eyes. Suddenly remembering Jonah waiting, Cyrus said goodbye and started to walk away, only to be tugged back when T.J. didn’t let go of his wrist. Cyrus looked back expectantly, but T.J. just bit his lip softly, scanning Cyrus’ face and with one last long look at his lips, he let his eyes return to Cyrus’.

“Text me when you get home, okay?” He gave Cyrus’ hand a squeeze and let go.

Cyrus blushed at T.J.’s obvious appreciation and nodded. “I won't forget.”

-

Jonah was quiet their entire walk home, mostly keeping his eyes on the sidewalk. Cyrus thought about bringing up what happened back in the gym but he, himself, was confused about it, too.

Was that what was bothering him? Why would it bother him? Was actually seeing Cyrus’ gayness too much for him to handle? Was he only fine with it as long as he wasn’t directly involved?

Cyrus didn’t like the possible answers to any of those questions, so instead, chose to believe that Jonah would just tell him what was wrong when he was ready.

So, he tried making small talk. “You did great at practice today,” he said.

Jonah nodded. “Thanks.”

That was it. Short. Clipped. And it didn’t even clue Cyrus in on what exactly Jonah was feeling at that moment.

“Jonah…” he tried again, feeling a small spark of bravery. “Is something wrong? You’ve been quiet since we left.”

“I’m fine.”

Well, that was disappointing.

Jonah managed a fake smile at him (and Cyrus knew it was fake because he knew Jonah Beck like the back of his hand) before turning back to staring at the sidewalk. He spoke no more and Cyrus had no choice but to give up.

The rest of the walk was silent and uncomfortable.

When they reached Jonah’s house, the other boy simply turned to him and offered a short, “Bye” before walking away.

With a quick opening and closing of the front door, Jonah was gone.

Cyrus was left behind, still standing confused and worried on the sidewalk. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, but eventually, he knew he had to move and continued on home.

He was still so worried about Jonah’s behavior that he almost forgot to text T.J. that he had arrived home. He dropped his bag on the floor of his room and took his phone out, sending the Captain a quick text before flopping onto his bed and just staring at the ceiling.

He was exhausted, physically and emotionally.

His phone ping-ed a moment later. It was a reply from T.J., asking him to settle an argument between him and his sister.

I have a bet with my sis and i need another guy’s opinion. High stakes so answer carefully

Who’s hotter? Jon snow or khal drogo? I'm trusting you have good taste (Tongue ) don't let me down (Face With Look Of Triumph )

Cyrus felt his lips twitch into a smile as he typed his reply.

-

The next day, just as he was heading out, Cyrus got a text from Jonah.

Sorry can’t walk today moms driving me

Confused and hurt, Cyrus typed back an “Okay” before taking a deep breath, holding back tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.

He continued on his journey to school alone.

-

When he arrived at Buffy’s locker, excited to finally have company, he was surprised to see that Jonah wasn’t there either. He should have gotten to school before him since he got a ride.

“Have you guys heard from Jonah?” he asked the girls.

“Not since yesterday,” Andi replied.

His face must have shown his distress because she and Buffy immediately started looking concerned.

“Why? What happened?” Buffy asked.

“Well…” Flashes of green eyes and a cute fangy grin appeared in his head and Cyrus couldn’t help the smile from forming on his lips.

“Um…” He lowered his voice. “T.J. almost kissed me!”

“Woah!” Buffy exclaimed at the same time Andi gasped, “Oh my God!”

“I told you so!” Buffy couldn’t help but add with a grin.

“Wait… who’s T.J.?” Andi asked.

He realized that he never really told Andi about T.J. Then again, she was always hanging out with Walker these days so they rarely ever saw her.

“The basketball Captain,” Buffy answered before Cyrus could. “He’s the one I told you about. The guy who totally has a crush on our Cybug!”

“Oh, that guy! The hot Captain! Nice catch, Cy!”

Cyrus felt himself blush all over. His ears were practically heating up.

“But… wait… what does that have to do with Jonah?” Andi brought back the matter at hand, the concern returning to her face.

At the reminder, Cyrus felt himself deflate. “He’s...kind of the reason it didn’t happen. He walked in on us.”

Andi and Buffy both glanced at each other.

“You don’t think he has some kind of internalized homophobia or anything, right?” he couldn’t help but ask.

It had been bothering him so much all night, that he fell asleep restless and woke up even more restless. Jonah missing their morning walk to school didn’t really help matters.

Andi and Buffy both quickly swept him up in a hug, surrounding him on either side.

“Shhh, of course not sweetie, I’m sure he’s just going through something personal,” Andi cooed.

“Yeah, I’m sure it has nothing to do with you and T.J. at all,” added Buffy.

“You really think so?” Cyrus asked, appreciating the comfort but needing reassurance.

The girls pulled back and gave him their best reassuring smiles. He could see right through Andi’s very fake smile and nod and Buffy’s quiet shrug.

He sighed. “Thanks, guys. Very helpful.”

Looking guilty, the two girls linked their arms with his, Andi on his right and Buffy on his left. Together, they began to walk to class.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure Jonah will tell you soon enough,” said Buffy. “You're his best friend. He’ll tell you when he’s ready.

“Definitely, so there’s no use worrying about it. Okay, Cy?” Andi added.

He sighed again. “I guess.”

-

But Cyrus did worry. He worried about his unanswered texts throughout the day. He worried while he walked home alone because he didn’t want to bother T.J. for a ride home (he still felt flushed every time he remembered the day before). And he worried as he silently ate his dinner while his mom and step-dad discussed their day.

Like the night before, he had trouble falling asleep, his mind still stressing out over every little detail that could possibly be wrong. Just as he felt his eyes grow heavier and his consciousness leave him, a loud ‘plink’ jerked him awake again. Followed by another one. And another.

Something was tapping at his window, quite loudly. Cyrus looked at his clock and saw that it was almost midnight and groaned as he rolled out of bed. He opened his curtains and squinted through the darkness, just to see Jonah standing under his window, an arm held back ready to throw.

Oh my God he’s throwing rocks at my window.

How incredibly cliché. It made his heart all giddy.

Thankfully, Jonah noticed Cyrus before he threw another one and gestured for him to come down.

Closing his curtains, Cyrus tried to control his heart, that was suddenly beating a thousand times a minute. He grabbed a sweater to ward off the chill of the night and just as he was putting on his slippers, his bedroom door opened.

His mom stuck her head inside. “What’s that racket?” she asked, sleepily with her eyes still closed.

Cyrus tried not to giggle. “It’s just Jonah, mom.”

“Oh, okay, well tell him the casserole will be ready in a minute,” she replied.

“Will do, you can go back to bed now.”

With a barely-awake nod, his mom toddled off.

Cyrus didn’t wait for her to even reach the master bedroom. He jammed his feet into his slippers, grabbed his phone, and left his room. Carefully, he used his phone to light his way down the stairs and through the living room before he reached the front door.

He opened it to find Jonah waiting on the other side, hands in his jacket.

“Hey,” he greeted, his usual dimpled smile just as bright as ever, even in the darkness of the night.

“Hey, Jonah.” Cyrus stepped outside and closed the door behind him. “You know, we have these things called phones we can use for more quiet and less reckless communication.”

“But they always use rocks in the movies and I always wanted to try it.”

“You could’ve broken my window you know.” He said smiling despite his words.

“Oh, really? My bad, dude. I was just trying to copying the rom-coms my mom likes to watch.”

“You watch rom-coms? Since when?”

“Since, well, uh…” Rarely did Jonah ever look unsure and unconfident. “Actually it’s part of why I'm here. First, I wanted to say... I’m sorry that I was kinda ignoring you today. But... I was really confused. I… I didn’t like seeing you with T.J. yesterday and... I didn’t know why.”

Cyrus’ heart started to hammer in his chest. Oh, Jonah came to finally talk about that.

“And I thought that maybe it was ‘cause I was seeing you with a guy, you know, that way,” he continued, barely looking at Cyrus. “But, I didn’t like thinking about you with a girl either, at least not that… close,” he said with a slight grimace. “So I started thinking about why I felt that way, and I realized that I wanted to be the one you hang around all the time. And I wanna be the one that teaches you how to shoot hoops. And I like hanging out with you more than anyone. So, um…” He looked up now, green eyes gentle in the moonlight. “I was wondering if you’d go on a date with me this weekend?”

He finished with a sheepish smile, his dimples highlighted by the low light, his bright eyes looking at Cyrus, hopefully.

Meanwhile, Cyrus had frozen in place as he processed the words just said to him.

Jonah just asked him out. Jonah BECK just asked him out! The same best friend since 3rd grade, the reason he knew he was gay, Jonah Beck, wanted to go on a date with him, Cyrus Goodman! JONAH BECK!!!!!

His heart was beating so loud he was surprised he could still hear Jonah.

“A-Are… Are you serious?” he asked, still in shock. There was no way this was real.

Jonah chuckled. “Yeah, dude. I’ve been thinking about it all day. It was all I could think about, and I just couldn’t wait until tomorrow to ask you. I mean, you’ve always been cute, Cy. I think I was just too scared to do anything before.”

JONAH THOUGHT HE WAS CUTE!!!

Cyrus knew he had to have a full blush by now, if the burning in his cheeks were any indication. He was probably doing a great impression of a fish with his mouth gaping open as well, as he tried to comprehend what he to deserve this blessing.

Jonah reached for one of his hands. “I like you, Cy. So will you go out with me?” he finished rubbing his thumb over the back of Cyrus’ hand, sending tingles down his arm. His mesmerizing eyes gazed deeply into Cyrus’ own.

“Okay,” Cyrus breathed out before he realized it.

Jonah’s blinding smile made him smile back.

“That’s so docious!” he exclaimed, pulling Cyrus into a quick hug and releasing him, before running a hand through his hair and chuckling shakily. “Oh man, that was scary. I almost chickened out. Whooo! Okay so, uh, is Saturday good?”

Cyrus nodded, still in shock.

“Cool, see ya tomorrow, Cy.”

He hesitated before taking a step closer to Cyrus and kissing his cheek. He flashed one last brilliant smile at the stunned boy, before jogging the short hike back to his house.

Cyrus didn’t know how he managed to get back to his room after all that. It was kind of a blur. But, the minute his back hit his mattress, he let out an excited squeal, the ghost of Jonah’s kiss still on his cheek.

He never thought he could ever feel this happy.

-

Cyrus woke up feeling more energized and excited for school than he'd felt since his first day of kindergarten (before he found out what school was actually like). That energy built up all morning as he got ready and burst the instant he saw Jonah waiting for him by the sidewalk between their houses.

Their usual morning “Hey’s” to each other felt like so much more as they shyly smiled at each other before they starting their walk to school. Jonah was walking closer to him than usual, Cyrus noticed. So close in fact that their hands kept brushing against each other and each time, they would glance up at each other, shyly before looking away. Finally, after the fifth time, Jonah reached out and intertwined fingers in a loose grasp, making butterflies erupt in Cyrus’ stomach.

As they neared the school, Jonah pulled him to the side.

“Is it okay if we don’t tell the girls yet?” he asked. “I just don’t wanna jinx it.”

“Oh…”

The concept of lying to his best friends made Cyrus a little uncomfortable. They told each other everything. But, then again, he could understand where Jonah was coming from. He wanted this to work too.

“But lying is hard,” he pouted.

“You don’t have to lie. Just... don’t tell them. It’s easy!” Jonah grinned.

“Right. Sure. Just don’t tell them that you and I are dating! Not a word. No BD.”

Cyrus couldn’t contain his happiness. It was clear on his face, he just knew it. There was no way the girls wouldn’t figure out that something was going on.

“How about you go get breakfast instead?” Jonah suggested. “I heard they started stocking up more on those muffins that you like.”

Cyrus perked up. “Yeah, sure, okay! It’s the most important meal of the day, after all!”

He couldn’t stop smiling around Jonah. Every time he looked at his face, he remembered the night before and the romantic way he asked him out. Jonah was the boy he always dreamed about and now, that boy was looking at him with those eyes and that smile, the way he always wanted Jonah to look at him. But this time he wasn’t imagining the softness in his gaze. It was real.

“So, I guess I’ll see you at practice,” Jonah said, interrupting their moment.

Cyrus blinked. “You’re not coming to breakfast with me?” he asked, a little disappointed.

“Sorry, I have to meet up with some kids from class for a project. Another time?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Cyrus barely registered the words but one side of Jonah’s mouth curled up in a smile before letting go of his hand and walking away towards the building.

-

Cyrus somehow managed to keep his huge secret from Andi and Buffy the entire day. They asked him briefly about Jonah and all he said was that they talked and it was all just a little misunderstanding then kept his mouth shut after that. Thankfully, the girls were not in a prying mood.

But, then, it was time for basketball practice. And with practice came the crashing reality that was life.

How could he forget about T.J.?!  T.J. who gave him rides home from school?! T.J. with the amazing hair and the cute smile?! T.J. who almost kissed him?!

And Jonah! Jonah who he crushed on for as long as he could remember?! Jonah with dimples?! Jonah who just asked him out the very night before, making his dreams come true?!

He was crushing on two cute boys. At. The Same. Time! And they both wanted him! How did this happen?! How was he supposed to survive the next two hours?!

-

Since T.J. was still on bench suspension, he was helping Cyrus with his managerial duties, instead.

“Hey, don’t forget the cones,” T.J. pointed out as they were packing up the cart before practice.

Cyrus jumped before letting out a nervous laugh.

“Oh, yeah, hello, earth to Cyrus!” he joked as he grabbed them and placed them in the cart.

T.J. flashed him a worried look. “Are you okay? You seem… anxious.”

“Anxious? Me? Nooooo, I’m fine!”

T.J. didn’t look convinced. “I mean, I’m not the best at giving advice but you can talk to me,” he offered, sweetly. Cyrus caught a whiff of citrus as T.J. got closer.

Oh God, he was not helping Cyrus’ case. The more he got to know the jock, the more he realized that he was actually a good guy. Who wanted to kiss him. How can something be so wonderful and terrible at the same time?

“I’m fine, really! Why wouldn’t I be fine?! My life is like a movie!” Cyrus forced a laugh.

T.J. raised a skeptical brow.  “Riiight, okay. Well, if you change your mind I’ll be on the bench,” he said with a small roll of his eyes and a smile. “But, it’s not so bad now that I get to watch you for once though.”

Wow. Cyrus couldn’t deny T.J.’s flirting game was on point, as the usual flush rose to his cheeks at the older boy’s bold words.

Grinning at his blush and flashing a wink that was not good for his heart, the Captain wheeled the cart out, forcing a still red-faced Cyrus to follow after him.

-

All throughout practice, Cyrus played a delicate game of only glancing at T.J. while Jonah was otherwise preoccupied and trying harder than ever before to not give the Captain or Jonah any more attention than usual.

It was the most stressful two hours of his life. He was exhausted.

Finally, Coach blew his whistle, signaling the end of practice.

Cyrus let out a sigh of relief as Jonah jogged up to him.

“Hey, I’ll change as fast as I can and we can walk home,” the dimpled boy said as he tried to catch his breath.

Cyrus just nodded, knowing that T.J. was watching them without having to look. He could probably see how close Jonah was standing or could tell that Jonah was being more touchy than usual. He didn’t even know why he was trying to hide this fact from T.J. He just knew that he didn’t want the older boy to start thinking… things. He was already feeling guilty for feeling the things he was feeling.

Jonah looked reluctant to leave, even glancing at T.J. once. But, he knew he had no choice but to leave if he wanted to shower and change out of his sweaty clothes. Cyrus resolved to keep some distance between the Captain and him.

The moment Jonah left, T.J. was immediately right next to Cyrus.

“Hey,” he said, softly as he flashed his signature smirk.

He's so hot, though, Cyrus couldn’t stop himself from thinking.

Thanks to the suspension, he was seeing more and more of Normal T.J., who turned out to be a softer T.J., complete with a collection of hoodies now that the weather was growing colder. Softer T.J. was also cuddly T.J. who still had the Captain T.J.’s confidence. And the combination of the two threw Cyrus in for a loop every time.

But, then, the guilt settled again. He already had Jonah. So why was he looking at T.J.?!

He coughed awkwardly as he bent down to start grabbing the usual pile of scrimmage jerseys in an attempt to put some space between them.

“H-Hey,” he managed before inwardly cringing at his not-so-subtle nerves on full display.

God, he was so awkward.

Meanwhile, T.J. was looking at him all confused. “Uh, need some help with that?” He reached out with a hand towards the jerseys.

Cyrus gathered them all in his arms in one go, sadly realizing he was used to the smell. “No, that’s okay! I’ve got it!”

T.J. raised an eyebrow. “Okaaay.” He headed for the cones and started picking them up.

“Actually! I can clean up today, there’s not that much of a mess, so why don’t you head on home?”

Cyrus prayed that he would take the bait.

The Captain appeared to hesitate, a stack of two cones already clutched in his hand. “Are you sure you’re alright? You’re acting kinda weird.”

“Yeah, yeah! It’s just I feel bad about making you help me when you're the Captain and all.”

T.J. smiled. “I don’t mind helping you, Cyrus. Besides being with you isn’t exactly a chore.”

With that, he went back to stacking cones.

Nooooo. Why is he making this so hard?! Cyrus exclaimed in turmoil in his head.

Resolving to just let the Captain do his thing, he hurriedly went back to cleaning up. He stuffed the jerseys into the mesh bag and tossed the bag into the cart before picking up the basketballs around him.

When he turned around, T.J. was adding the stacked cones into the cart. He looked up and smiled when he saw Cyrus staring.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” he teased.

Cyrus blushed before coughing. “You’re weird,” he said, walking over to place the balls into the cart.

“I’m weird? You’re the one acting like a scared mouse all afternoon. Seriously, Cyrus, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You keep saying it’s nothing but there’s definitely something.”

“T.J., please,” Cyrus practically begged, hating himself for being difficult.

But, what was he supposed to say to T.J.? That he was starting to have a crush on him but it was wrong because his long-time crush Jonah finally noticed him and had asked him out? Yeah, that would go over well...not.

His distress must have shown on his face since T.J. let out a resigned sigh.

“Okay, fine” was all he said.

They continued picking up the rest of the basketballs in silence. T.J. didn’t say anything else and neither did he.

Only after the cart was locked away in the equipment closet did Cyrus finally feel relieved. He quickly headed for Coach Mullen’s office and left the keys in their designated hook by the door.

When he returned, T.J. was still there, clearly waiting for him. “Need a ride?” he asked.

Cyrus shook his head. “Um, I’m walking home with Jonah today.”

“Oh, okay.” The jock sounded disappointed and it made Cyrus feel even more guilty. “I’ll see you around then.”

Without another word, T.J. grabbed his things and began heading out of the gym. Cyrus watched as the doors closed behind him.

For some reason, he still felt really guilty. T.J. was still flirting with him and he couldn’t help but respond to it. But, he was finally starting something with Jonah. He shouldn’t be acting sweet with other guys.

He swore to watch himself in the next couple of days. For sure, this… thing… he was feeling for T.J. was all because the jock was sweet and nice to him. Surely, it meant nothing else but a brief crush, one of those that disappeared in a wink. What he had with Jonah was special.

“Hey, Cy. Ready to go?”

Putting on a smile, Cyrus turned on his heels to see Jonah emerge from the locker rooms, hair clean and fluffy from the shower. He looked so cute.

“Yep!”

Pushing his guilty feelings aside, Cyrus happily bounded over to Jonah’s side and they headed home together hand in hand.

-

Thankfully, the next day was Friday so Cyrus only had to act like he hadn't entered the gay jock twilight zone for one more day. He still felt guilty about keeping his friends in the dark, especially when he was left to his own devices when the time came to choose his perfect date outfit, but it was eclipsed by his excitement.

Jonah had told him to wear something comfortable and shoes to walk in and Jonah knew him well enough to know that Cyrus avoided physical activities. He still couldn't help but worry, though, that Jonah’s usual adorable cluelessness could have affected his date choice. Jonah had mentioned a trampoline park some time ago, and while he could see the potential fun, Cyrus desperately hoped their date would be more traditional.

The doorbell rang as Cyrus was trying on his 4th potential outfit.

He couldn't just wear his usual clothes since Jonah had already seen most of them, as well as his nicer ones, so he had to get creative, especially since he didn't have the girls to help him like he desperately needed.

Cyrus had no choice but to accept the 4th as his best choice and rushed to fix his hair. He could heard his mother greeting Jonah downstairs.

“Well don’t you look snazzy,” he heard her say, much to his embarrassment.

“Mom, I’ll be there in a second!” Cyrus yelled, speeding through his hair routine as fast as possible, making sure it had the right amount of height and volume.

When he was satisfied, he gave himself a nod and an encouraging deep breath before grabbing his phone and wallet.  

He rushed down the stairs to find Jonah casually chatting with his step-dad. Cyrus knew he should be acting like this was a normal hang out, but the moment Jonah flashed him a smile, the reality that he was about to go on the date that he had always hoped for came crashing down on him.

His heart began to speed up.“H-Hey, Jonah.”

He hoped his parents couldn’t read him as well as they could read their patients. Damn, psychology-powered parents.

“Hey, Cy! Ready to go?” Jonah asked with a smile and nod.

He noticed his mom raising a brow at his behavior, but thankfully, they managed to escape to Jonah’s mom’s car without any further comment.

-

When the car finally slowed, Cyrus felt excitement overtake his nervousness. “The zoo?! I haven’t been to the zoo in forever!”

Jonah smiled proudly as he kissed his mom goodbye and exited the car, “Yeah, well, I thought you might like it.”

Together, they headed for the ticket line.

“Remember when we went here on a field trip back in the 6th grade and a chimp stole your lunch?”

Jonah laughed and nodded. “Mom shouldn’t have packed that banana for me that day.”

“But, it’s okay. I shared my pudding with you, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that. You've always been so awesome,” he held Cyrus’ hand and bumped their shoulders.

They flashed each other soft smiles and Cyrus felt like he was floating on clouds.

-

An hour after arriving, Cyrus decided that it was officially the best day ever, as he neared the reptile house, holding hands with the man of his dreams.

Cyrus didn’t even realize he had separated from Jonah as soon as they got in, because he was instantly drawn to the oversized king of lizards: the great komodo dragon.

The creature was beautiful, its scales a shining mix of brown and green. It was lazily lying by the little man-made pond in its enclosure, bathing in the sun.

“Did you know that Komodo dragons are the largest lizards in the world?” he piped, watching as the creature shifted its head to glance at him before looking away, it's forked tongue flicking out much to Cyrus’ delight. “They can get as big as 10 feet! Do you know how big that is?! That’s almost two of me! And they're venomous!”

Cyrus finally turned to face Jonah and caught the slight glaze in his eyes. Oh, no. He had started rambling again.

“Oh yeah? That’s awesome,” Jonah said a beat late.

Cyrus appreciated it, anyway.

“Yeah, they’re pretty cool!” Cyrus gave the most amazing lizard ever a little wave (even though it wasn’t even looking in his direction) before taking Jonah’s arm and pulling him away to the nearby enclosures. “Let’s check out the snakes!”

“Yeah, okay,” Jonah replied, smiling once again.

The snakes were housed behind giant glass windows, some of the more dangerous ones in separate glass cases attached to the walls. There were various types in different colors freely hanging from mini trees, encircling branches, and hiding under rocks.

It was one of the coolest things Cyrus had ever seen!

As they took turns pointing out snakes, T.J.’s voice suddenly floated into his memory, “I’ve always wanted a snake…”

Maybe he could take a picture and send it to him.

At that thought, Cyrus felt another pang of guilt for remembering the other boy on his date, but quickly pushed it aside as Jonah pointed out a snake that they had missed, hiding in the leaves of one of the branches. The smile on his face was as bright as the sun.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted a handler with a giant yellow python around his shoulders, talking to some wide-eyed kids. Cyrus watched with interest as the handler placed the python on the shoulders of two kids, who looked both intrigued and terrified.

Cyrus tugged on Jonah’s sleeve and pointed to the python. “Wanna get close?”

Jonah’s eyes widened, looking unsure. “Um…”

It was Cyrus’ turn to impress so taking Jonah’s hand, he dragged him towards the handler and the giant snake.

He basked in the impressed smile on Jonah's face as he took a picture of him holding the huge creature.

-

The sun was starting to set and they managed to walk around the entire zoo, even with their many stops for selfies and snapchat updates. Jonah even got him a pressed penny souvenir with the zoo’s name on it that Cyrus would cherish forever.

They had one last animal they planned to see, just because it was closest to the exit: tapirs. They were basically ugly warthogs. It looked like they were the least popular animals in the whole zoo because the two of them were the only ones in the area.

Cyrus had his fill of reading the information in the little placard and observing the animal before making a move towards the exit.

But, for some reason, Jonah decided to stop with a hand on his arm.

“Cy, wait,” Jonah said with meaning.

Cyrus took in Jonah's nervous face and the sounds of the zoo faded into the background.

Jonah’s mouth opened, but no words came out. His eyes flicked down to Cyrus’ lips, and at that moment, Cyrus knew that his dreams were about to come true. He barely saw Jonah’s eyes close, as his quickly followed, his heart ramming in his chest.

He felt a soft warm pressure on his lips and he gasped at the feeling. Their lips parted for a second before Cyrus felt another, firmer kiss. Fireworks went off in his mind. He couldn’t think, only feeling the amazing buzz of happiness that the sensation Jonah's kiss gave him.

They finally pulled away, both blushing heavily, and smiling widely. Cyrus could still feel his lips tingling where Jonah’s had just been.

“Cyrus, before we go,” Jonah grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. “I just want you to know that I had a lot of fun with you today… and that I want to be your boyfriend.”

Cyrus’ mouth fell open, completely shocked. Jonah had never been one for commitment. He had dated in the past but had always avoided using any kind of labels. Now here he was asking him to be his boyfriend on the first date?!?!? He should thank God more often, he has obviously been blessed with some kind of gay luck.

“R-Really? You mean it? You want us to be together?” Cyrus asked, trying not to get his hopes up.

Jonah laughed. “Yeah, dude. This date just proved what I already thought. We’re best friends but now we get to have more fun together! As a couple!”

Cyrus’ head was still fuzzy from the kiss and the sudden confession, but there was no ounce of doubt in his voice as he fulfilled his destiny.

“I’d love to be your boyfriend, Jonah,” he said, heart fluttering.

-

Jonah’s mom had picked them up and drove them home.

Cyrus was on cloud nine the entire ride, unusually quiet as the long day and utter contented happiness washed over him. Meanwhile, Jonah relayed their entire day to his mom. He flashed Cyrus a cute smile when they dropped him off.

That night, after putting on his favorite cozy pajamas, Cyrus grabbed his phone to send his new boyfriend a goodnight text. (Boyfriend... that word associated with Jonah Beck still somehow felt like a dream and made him all giddy.)

To his surprise, he already had a message.

Hey, what’s up? (Face With Stuck-Out Tongue And Winking Eye )

Oh, no. T.J.

Chapter Text

Cyrus paced back and forth in his room, phone in his hand, before taking a deep breath, finally decided on what to say.

He raised the phone level to his face. “Jonah asked me to be his boyfriend last night. And I said yes.”

“WHAT?!” the girls practically shrieked from his phone, both their tiny pixelated faces showing equal levels of shock.

He couldn’t blame them. Even he still couldn’t believe it.

When T.J. had texted him earlier, he quickly realized that he had no idea what to do. He never had one boy like him before, let alone two at once. He needed his best friends’ help, and keeping this from them was killing him anyway.

“I knew Jonah secretly liked you!” Buffy said, excitedly. “You owe me five bucks Andi! Maybe I’m psychic… That would explain why I’m always right.”

“Since when?!” Andi said, instead.

“About... 4 hours ago?”

“But.. you told us that T.J. tried to kiss you a few days ago.” Andi sounded clearly confused. “What happened?”

Cyrus groaned. “I don’t really know. Remember that day when Jonah was ignoring me? Well, he came to my house that night and told me that he liked me. Then, he asked me out but told me not to tell you, guys, yet. Then, today, we went to the zoo and it was so much fun and then… he kissed me... and now we’re boyfriends. But, then, T.J. texted me and I want to answer so badly. But I feel bad at the same time because… well… isn’t it, like, leading him on? I don’t want to lead him on. This is so confusing!  Heelllp meeee!”

His best friends could only offer him sympathetic looks. He wished they were there right next to him so they could hug him.

“You have to tell him the truth, Cyrus,” Andi said, gently.

“Yeah, you know he likes you already. It’s not fair to him to keep him on the hook,” added Buffy.

“But it’s so haaaaaard,” Cyrus whined.

He had absolutely no desire to do what the girls were telling him. But he knew he had to. It would be even worse if T.J. found out later instead of Cyrus telling him now.

“You have to Cy. Think of it like... ripping a band-aid,” Buffy suggested. “Painful but quick.”

As much as he didn’t want to, Cyrus knew it was the right thing to do.

-

Too soon for his liking, Tuesday came around and Cyrus was, once again, back in the gym for basketball practice. Jonah had let his hand go when they reached the door and immediately headed for the locker rooms to change.

Cyrus looked around, warily. T.J. wasn’t around yet.

Feeling relieved, he opened the equipment closet to grab his trusty cart and everything the team needed for the day.

“Cyrus! Hey!”

The teen jumped, dropping a few cones as he turned around to see the Captain entering the closet.

“H-Hey…” Cyrus stammered as he leaned down to grab the fallen cones.

T.J. grabbed the nearby mesh bag of skirmish jerseys and walked closer to where Cyrus was to place them in the cart.

“I barely heard from you all weekend. And you were acting kinda weird last practice, so I gotta admit, I got a little worried. Is everything alright? Did something happen or am I just being paranoid?”

Cyrus met his eyes to see the genuine concern there. He felt guilt prick his heart. He knew what he had to do. Why was doing the right thing so hard?!

“T.J., I have to tell you something,” he said, forlornly.

T.J. perked up, clearly happy that Cyrus was finally going to tell him something. “Shoot.”

Cyrus took a deep breath. “I... have a boyfriend,”

T.J. smirked. “Oh, really? And what’s this boyfriend’s name?”

Oh, god, he looked so smug and hopeful at the same time. It was really killing Cyrus to do this. But, if he didn’t, T.J. would continue to hope. And then he would get hurt even more. It was like a band-aid. Just rip it off. It would be painful at first. But it was for the best.

His heart was drumming painfully against his ribcage as he answered, “I-It’s… Jonah. I’m dating Jonah.”

And just like that, T.J.’s face instantly dropped.

“Jonah?” he asked, incredulously.

Apparently hearing the name was enough for him to believe Cyrus.

He looked out towards the empty gym. The rest of the team were still in the locker rooms, changing. Coach Mullen was sitting on a bench, engrossed in reading the papers on his clipboard.

Shaking his head, T.J. looked back at Cyrus. “Since when?” he asked, hurt and disbelief written all over his face.

“This weekend,” Cyrus mumbled.

He never thought that being with Jonah could also make him feel so… bad.

T.J. took a step closer, his hands reaching out to Cyrus before falling helplessly at his sides.

“But… But what about…? I thought…” He trailed off desperately looking deep into Cyrus’ eyes as if he was trying to read inside him.

And Cyrus knew that he couldn’t hide how guilty he felt about having to do this to the older boy. Especially because he really did like him and never wanted to be the one to hurt him.

But he was finally with Jonah. He couldn’t continue to lead T.J. on. It would be wrong.

When T.J. didn’t find whatever he was searching for, Cyrus watched his face harden into a cool mask as he stepped back.

“Fine, whatever.” His tone was cold and guarded.

He turned to walk out.

“T.J., wait!”

Cyrus couldn’t help but reach out to him with a hand but held back before he could even touch his sleeve.

“W-We can still be friends. Right?”

He didn’t want to stop spending time with T.J. And Cyrus knew it was selfish to want that. But, he cared for him and knew that he would miss him if they ever stopped hanging out.

T.J. scoffed and shook his head at the question.

Cyrus felt his face crumble and his hope die.

T.J. turned back, looking like he wanted to tell him off, but his face softened once he saw him. Sighing, he took a couple of steps back to the younger boy.

“Look, no offense, Cyrus, but I always thought of you as more than just a friend. And right now… I think I need a little space from you.”

Cyrus felt his eyes well up a bit. He hated losing friends.

T.J. looked at Cyrus, regretfully. “I’ll, uh, still help with the manager stuff while I’m benched. And… Congratulations, I guess.”

With that, he walked out. Cyrus moved to follow but paused in his tracks at the entrance.

He watched miserably as T.J. walked back to the bench and sat down, pulling the hood of his hoodie over his head. His eyes trained on his team who were now gathered on the court. The cool mask back on his face.

And Cyrus felt like the worst person on the face of the planet.

-

By the time he finally managed to get all the equipment ready and leave the closet, Coach was already blowing his whistle loudly, signaling the start of practice.

“Before we start, I have an announcement.” He turned towards T.J. on the bench. “Kippen! Come here!”

T.J. looked surprised yet obeyed as he stood up and walked over to join the rest of the team.

Coach looked at him, sternly. “Your suspension is over. Since you’re the Captain, we can’t have you missing any more practices. The first game of the season is coming up and I need everyone up and running. So, you better not have any more slip-ups or you’re off the team, got it?”

Cyrus expected T.J. to be overjoyed at the news. He could play again after missing out on quite a few practices. But, instead of cheering or even smiling, T.J. just shrugged, nonchalantly with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Got it,” he said.

“Good. I’m officially assigning everyone their main positions today. Captain, you’re the power forward. Now, go get changed.”

Calmly, T.J. headed off towards the locker rooms.

Cyrus felt a pang at Captain’s subdued reaction, knowing that he was the reason T.J. couldn’t fully appreciate the news.

Coach assigned everyone else their positions while Cyrus made notes on who was what. He figured it would help him better figure out how best to serve the team as their manager if he knew everyone’s specialty.

T.J.’s words to him from that very first day of practice came back to him: “You’re supposed to get to know each player, know their strengths and weaknesses and help them get better.”

He could at least try to make it up to T.J. by taking his managerial duties, seriously.

It didn’t take long for T.J. to come back, all changed and ready. While the team was doing warm-ups, Cyrus continued making notes. And in doing so, he noticed something.

T.J. kept glancing in Jonah’s direction, the glare on his face clear for anyone to see. Even Jonah, who was not great on picking up on things, noticed the Captain's attention.

Cyrus worried about the possible friction he had made between the two players.

During their water break before the practice game, Jonah ran up to Cyrus.

“Hey, Cy. Uh, do you know what’s up with T.J.? I think he’s been kinda staring at me for some reason.”

“Oh, that? It’s nothing.”

But, saying that felt wrong. It wasn’t nothing. He had hurt T.J.’s feelings.

Cyrus retracted. “Actually...He might be a little upset.”

A little was an understatement but he would keep that information to himself.

Meanwhile, Jonah furrowed his eyebrows. “Why?”

“Um… I… kind of told him that we’re… together.”

“What?! You told him?! Right before practice?!” Jonah’s eyes were wide and there was genuine fear and worry there.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t have a choice! He was asking all these questions and he was so close and I didn’t want to lie-.”

“Yeah, okay, I get it,” Jonah interrupted, as he looked nervously over his shoulder.

T.J. was standing by the rest of the team, listening to a couple of them talking but he was clearly watching Cyrus and Jonah. And from the looks of the scowl on his face, he was not happy about what he was seeing.

“I should just leave, right? Fake an injury?” Jonah said, swallowing.

Cyrus felt himself frown at his boyfriend. He was acting like T.J. was just going to attack him right there on the basketball court. He knew that T.J. may have been a bit of a cocky jerk at the beginning but he wasn’t a horrible person.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. T.J.’s not that bad.”

He reached out to comfort him, but Jonah flinched away, looking back at T.J.’s direction. The Captain was still watching, but much more subtle now that he knew that the other two were aware that he was watching them.

Cyrus sighed. “Don’t worry, he’s not going to risk getting kicked off the team just because of us. And he’s nicer than you think. Really. I promise.”

Yet, Jonah didn’t look reassured but had no choice but to get on the court when Coach blew his whistle.

-

The Coach had split the teams up and Jonah and T.J. were on opposite teams. Cyrus wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

In the end, it didn’t matter much, because Jonah did everything he could to stay out of T.J.’s way. He stayed towards the back, even missing the ball a few times. When he did end up touching the ball, he would quickly pass it to the nearest player, not even looking to see if he was on his team. It was pretty ridiculous, especially since he was supposed to be the new point guard and his job was to assist with making the baskets, not avoiding the area near the basket at all cost!

Apparently, the Coach wasn’t happy about it either. After 5 minutes in and Jonah failed to pass the ball to the right player, he blew his whistle again, surprising Cyrus who was standing next to him with the stopwatch.

“Beck! What do you think you’re doing?!” Coach Mullen bellowed.

Jonah’s eyes widened at being called out.

“N-Nothing. I was... helping from the back?” He quickly glanced at Cyrus and T.J. then turned his attention back to the Coach.

“I don’t think that’s in your job description, do you?” Coach continued to grill.

“Yeah, Jonah,” T.J. cut in, snarkily. “Your job is to get in my way.”

Jonah met Cyrus’ eyes, looking scared and confused. “I thought I was supposed to assist Shaun.”

Honey, no... Cyrus thought.

“You are, but you keep running the opposite direction! I stay close to the net for a reason, man!” Shaun complained.

“R-Right… Sorry.”

Meanwhile, T.J. just rolled his eyes and sighed.

“You know what your job is,” he said, using his authoritarian Captain voice. “So, can you actually do it, instead of whatever it was you were doing? Forget about whatever off-court issue you have and focus on what’s going on. You’re letting your team down. My team could have easily beat yours if Coach didn’t stop the game.”

“Listen to your Captain, Beck,” said Coach. “He may not be punctual, but he knows what he’s talking about. Learn from him, all of you!” he called out to the rest of the team.

Jonah nodded, and Coach blew the whistle to start the game up again.

Cyrus couldn’t help but be impressed. T.J. acted like a true Captain right there, berating Jonah when he needed it and emphasizing that whatever problem Jonah had with him off the court, he could forget about it on the court.

Luckily practice ended without any further incident. Jonah had taken T.J.’s words to heart and actually played right, this time, proving he was the right for his position.

As Cyrus wheeled out his trusty cart to start cleaning up while the team headed to the locker room, he spied a player from the corner of his eye, lingering by the door. When he looked, his eyes met T.J.’s, looking back at him. The sad expression on his face made Cyrus feel like he had literally kicked a puppy. And the ache in his heart wasn’t making things any better either.

T.J. kept their gaze locked for a beat longer before finally looking away and walking through the gym doors.

-

Two weeks had passed and Cyrus’ life couldn’t be better!

He had the perfect boyfriend, his friends and family were alive and well, and he finally learned all the positions in the team. The only thing that would have made his life the best, though, was if T.J. forgave him and talked to him again.

Things were still awkward between him and the Captain. And the urge to talk to him only grew stronger every day but the older boy wouldn’t even look in his direction anymore. Sure, he came to practice on time now, but since his suspension had ended, he no longer had time to help Cyrus with his duties. And he kind of missed him.

But, if T.J. didn’t want to talk to him, there was nothing Cyrus could do about it.

So, life went on.

The whole gang was hanging out at The Spoon, as usual. There was Cyrus, his boyfriend, the Wandi couple, and Buffy. Luckily his getting with Jonah didn’t mess with their group dynamic. The only thing that had changed was the amount of physical contact they had. They held hands all the time now and Cyrus was happy as a bee each time.

After they got their food, everyone dug in… except for Buffy. Cyrus noticed that she was just picking at her burger and fries.

So, he asked, “Are you okay, Buff? You’ve barely touched your burger, and you haven't even tried to steal one of our baby taters.”

“Yeah, it’s nothing,” she replied in a monotone.

“Well it’s something if it's an it,” Cyrus pointed out.

Buffy sighed, throwing a fry down. “Marty won’t answer my texts.”

The rest of them flashed each other concerned looks.

“Maybe he’s just busy,” Andi said, an attempt to reassure her.

But, Cyrus went for the kill. “What did you do this time?”

Buffy actually looked offended. “Nothing! It’s not my fault he gets all mad over labels.”

“Buffy-,” Cyrus started.

“No, I don’t want to talk about this again,” Buffy sighed. “I just... want him to answer my fucking texts that’s all.”

She glared at her phone as if it would do what she wanted if she showed it how displeased she was.

Since she was the closest to Buffy, Andi rubbed her shoulder in comfort.

Cyrus felt for his best friend. He knew it was hard for her to let her guard down. Getting with someone like Marty, who was such a perfect match for her in every way, would be a huge step to knock down some of those defensive walls. She probably didn’t realize that he had obviously knocked a few of them down already.

They all decided to change the conversation after that.

Ever the peacemaker, Walker decided to talk about a new art piece that he and Andi were working on together for an upcoming art show at the local art gallery. The rest of them offered their congratulations and asked questions to keep the conversation going.

Cyrus noticed that Buffy was checking her phone more often than usual. It didn’t even look like she was doing it on purpose. Her hand would just gravitate to it and her eyes looking down to quickly check before looking up again to re-join the conversation.

He could relate. He found himself doing the same thing after T.J. stopped speaking to him.

Annnd there he was thinking of the jock… again.

“Can you move, babe? I gotta use the bathroom,” Andi asked Walker.

“Not before you pay the fee,” he grinned, already leaning in.

Andi giggled and gave him a quick peck and Walker immediately got out of her way, lending her a hand to stand from the booth.

“Thank you, kind sir.”

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Walker turned back to the crew.

“So guys, me and Andi’s two month anniversary is coming up, and I want to do something special. There’s a music festival coming around next weekend. Do you think she’d want to go?”

“Wait, this weekend or next weekend?” Buffy asked, looking up from her phone.

“Next weekend.”

“Sorry Walker, my birthday’s next weekend and the GHC have always celebrated our birthdays together,” Cyrus answered.

Beside him, he felt Jonah stiffen. He turned his head to see his boyfriend looking dumbstruck.

“What's that face? Did you forget or something?” Cyrus laughed.

Not meeting his eyes, Jonah grabbed his milkshake and started taking large gulps. Suddenly, he stopped and slapped a hand to his forehead. “Ah! Brainfreeze!”

He was tip-toeing around the subject. In fact… it seemed like he was avoiding it.

Cyrus felt a pit in his stomach. He couldn’t believe it. “Oh my God. You forgot my birthday.”

Knowing that he was caught, Jonah sighed.

“I’m sorry, Cy. But, hey! It’s not your birthday yet! And we all know you’re going to plan it, so I just gotta get you the best present ever to make up for it.”

Jonah smiled his charming smile and gave Cyrus a peck on the cheek.

The other boy’s feeling of unease didn’t wane but in the end, he chose to simply nod his head in agreement. “You better, or I'll bring this up every time I need your help with something.”

Jonah laughed. “Deal.”

And that was that.

-

After their gathering at The Spoon, everyone went their separate ways.

As usual, Walker walked Andi home. Buffy said she had to stop by the library to pick up some required reading for class.

Cyrus turned to Jonah with a sweet smile. “Walk me home?”

But Jonah shook his head, looking regretful. “Sorry, babe, but I’m meeting up with a couple of guys from the team.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Flashing him a smile, Jonah quickly pecked his lips before heading off the opposite direction.

Cyrus could only watch after him, feeling longing and strangely lonely. He didn’t even get to enjoy the brief kiss.

As he started walking in the direction towards home, his phone ping-ed with a message. Half hoping that it was Jonah changing his mind and walking home with him, he stopped in his tracks and eagerly opened it up.

His eyes widened. It wasn’t a text from Jonah yet he still felt hope blossom in his chest.

T.J. had texted him. His first text in the two weeks that they hadn’t spoken a word to each other.

You were right. Can we talk?

That confused him a little, but he answered, quickly.

Right about what? Of course we can talk!

He didn’t have to wait long for the reply.

Meet me at that park

On my way.

Tucking his phone back into his pocket, Cyrus continued on, his heart hammering in his chest in anticipation.

-

When he arrived at the park, Cyrus found T.J. sitting on a bench. The Captain was tapping his fingers against his shaking knee. A nervous habit. T.J. was nervous.

He looked up as Cyrus approached and offered a wave. “Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey,” T.J. replied with a soft smile as Cyrus settled on the bench next to him.

“So… what did you want to talk about?”

T.J. sighed and his eyes were full of regret as they met Cyrus’ own.

“You were right,” he stated. “About the whole learning disorder thing. Turns out I have… Dys...calc...culia?... Dyscalculia,” he repeated as if trying to get used to saying the word. “Apparently, 1 in 20 people have it. Aren’t I the lucky one?”

“Oh.” Cyrus’ eyes widened. A math learning disorder. It made sense now. “Oh! That’s… good to know. Wow. So that means you can get help with math now.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna get some kind of special tutor and Mr. Gold has to give me more time to take the tests now.”

“That’s great, T.J.!”

T.J. smirked, making Cyrus’ heart flutter at the sight. He missed it.

“Whatever, it’s just math,” said the Captain, smug and boastful.

Cyrus grinned. “Yeah, but now it’s just math instead of that class that’s ruining your life.”

T.J. barked out a laugh. “Yeah, man, I guess you're right.” His face evened out. “I wanted to say something else, though…” He bit his lip before saying, “I’m sorry that I ignored you. I just really needed some space, ya know.”

Cyrus nodded. “I understand. I’m sorry too. It all just happened so fast and I should have been more sensitive to your feelings and…” He sighed. “I’m just sorry.”

T.J. gently squeezed his knee. “It’s fine. I get it. The last two weeks gave me a lot to think about. And… I don’t want to stop being friends with you, Cyrus.”

Wow, this was going better than he had ever hoped. He was getting his friend back!

Cyrus smiled and opened his mouth to respond when the jock continued.

“It’s just… I like you, you know?”

And in that moment, Cyrus felt his heart skip a beat and his palms were suddenly all sweaty. In his head, the words repeated over and over again, that he wondered if he was capable of any other coherent thought. He already figured out that T.J. liked him. But, to hear him actually say the words made it all the more real.

Oblivious to his turmoil, T.J. continued to talk, “I mean, I’m pretty obvious about it. But, I get it. You’re with Jonah now and I won’t get in the way of that.” He sighed. “But, I’ve been kicking myself every day for not making a move sooner. I knew I liked you as soon as we met and now… I don’t think it’s possible for me to just... stop liking you. And maybe I’m kinda hoping that… someday… you'll give me a chance, too.”

Cyrus didn’t know what to say, so he kept silent.

“But, I'm good with just being your friend. Really. And I’ll be there if you need me. ‘Cause you’re a keeper, Goodman. And I don't wanna lose you over this.”

He smiled genuinely at Cyrus, conveying that he meant every word.

At this point, Cyrus knew that he was completely red in the face, the heat in his cheeks and ears warm enough to fight the chilly wind. His heart was skipping and his stomach was filled with butterflies. He couldn't believe that the same guy that was yelling at the potentials during tryouts was the same one saying such sweet things to him. He knew he wasn’t supposed to feel this way for any guy other than his boyfriend but… he couldn’t stop it.

He was going to blame it on teenage hormones. Yes, that was what it was. Teenage hormones and good looking athletes were to blame, not him.

“Anyway, I want us to go back to how we were before… well… before I acted like a jerk. Is that alright?” T.J. asked.

Yes, moving on. That was what they were going to do. Let bygones be bygones. T.J. was his friend again!

“Duh!” Cyrus replied, happily. “Besides, I don’t want us to change either. I like what we had.” He bumped their shoulders.

T.J. beamed. “Good. ‘Cause, to be honest, you lookin’ like a whole snack right now.”

Smirking cutely, the jock leaned towards Cyrus, wiggling his brows. The younger boy felt the blush deepen. He couldn’t hold back a giggle as he pushed back against T.J.’s chest, gently.

“Thanks, I guess,” he said, not used to getting compliments on his appearance.

So, that was what he meant by back to before. The teasing and flirtatious words. That was T.J. Kippen for you.

T.J. smiled, softly. “Anyway, I have to go to work now. But, can you text me? I’ve missed talking to you.”

He pouted.

Cyrus stared in disbelief. “You have a job?! But you already do other stuff! Like school and basketball and a social life. How do you have the time?!”

At that, T.J. laughed. “Why don’t you text me and maybe I'll tell you my secrets,” TJ stood up using Cyrus’ head and ruffling his hair at the same time. “We cool?”

Cyrus nodded.

“Cool. See you at school, then.”

With one last wave, the jock began to walk away, hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie.

Meanwhile, Cyrus remained on the bench, just watching him, contemplatively. He forgot to tell T.J. that he missed talking to him too.

Chapter Text

Just like he promised, Cyrus texted T.J. all weekend. He didn’t really have anything to do. Jonah had been busy, Andi was out with Walker, and Buffy was home doing chores.

They talked about the most random things, from T.J.’s record collection (he once almost cleaned out the Red Rooster’s new arrivals) to Cyrus’ top 10 favorite dinosaurs (and the reasons why).

He really did miss talking to the older teen.

The weekend came and went and soon, it was Monday again.

It started out as a pretty ordinary day. He and Jonah walked to school together and met up with the girls. Then, they went their separate ways to their classes. He met up with Buffy for lunch. They lamented the awful cafeteria food. Then, it was back to class.

Fairly ordinary.

So while Cyrus was walking down the hall to his locker so he could swap his books before his next class, he saw T.J. standing by his own locker. Normally, he would say “hi” and maybe make small talk.

But, the very pretty girl flipping her hair and touching the jock’s arm in an obviously flirty manner stopped him in his tracks.

Cyrus felt something bubble inside him. He didn’t like it. It was gross and unpleasant. He chose to ignore it.

Knowing that he was frowning, he hurriedly walked past T.J. and the girl, heading for his locker in the next hall.

As he swapped his books, Cyrus was trying his best to calm down. His head was in turmoil and his feelings were all over the place. He didn’t understand. He was fine that morning. Peachy, in fact.

So why did seeing T.J. with a girl completely throw him off?!

“Looking good, Goodman.”

Cyrus jumped at the familiar voice and he turned to see a smirking T.J. leaning against the locker next to his.

“Nice jeans,” he added.

Cyrus couldn’t help but look behind him to see if there was a girl.

There wasn’t.

Now sure the compliment was for him, he moved his gaze back to T.J. and smiled. “Thanks! They were the first pair I got myself!”

T.J. tilted his head to the side. “Cool. Maybe you can help me then? I have to get a whole new wardrobe for college.”

Cyrus thought of having T.J. all to himself, at the mall, and able to dress him to his fullest potential… watching him change into the perfect outfits that would complement his best features. For hours…

The blush was inevitable.

“Y-Yeah, I could do that,” Cyrus choked out.

T.J. grinned. “Can’t wait.” Then, he winked before pushing off the locker and walking away, leaving behind a still flustered Cyrus.

-

On their walk home that afternoon, Cyrus telling Jonah all about the weird things he learned in Bio that day and the fun experiment his teacher had planned for them the following week. The boy was gesturing pretty wildly, arms flying everywhere as he talked.

When he turned to Jonah to see if he was laughing too, his boyfriend was on his phone. He said he was listening, but he obviously wasn’t. And it was dangerous to walk while on your phone!

“Jonah!”

“Huh?” Jonah looked up from his phone, startled. “What happened?”

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

“Sorry, Cy. I got a message.” Jonah smiled and put his phone away. “So, what was it?”

“Nevermind, you had to be there anyway,” Cyrus replied, feeling his mood go down.

“Oh, okay, cool.”

Jonah started paying more attention to their walk after, commenting once in a while, but he gave his phone just as much attention. When they arrived home, Jonah gave him a quick peck when they separated, but it was too short for Cyrus to feel anything more than a brief warmth, gone as soon as it was there.

-

Cyrus and Buffy were having their usual questionable meal of the day when a familiar voice behind Cyrus made him turn so fast that he almost fell off his seat.

“Is this seat taken?”

There was the Captain, standing there, looking like his usual confident self. Cyrus didn’t even know he had this lunch period! He definitely would have noticed him at least once. He must usually get lunch somewhere else.

T.J. took the seat beside Cyrus without waiting for the answer.

“Hey,” he said to Cyrus before turning to Buffy and giving her a nod.

“And you are?” Buffy demanded with a suspicious raised brow.

Cyrus knew that T.J.’s bold actions were not appreciated.

“T.J., I’m Cyrus’ friend.”

Buffy’s eyes lit up. “Ohhhh. So you’re T.J.”

“I see you’ve been talking about me, Goodman,” T.J. smirked as he popped a fry into his mouth.

“Well, duh, you’re my friend.”

T.J. chuckled. “Riiight. Anyway, what are we talking about?”

Cyrus beamed in excitement as he practically vibrated in his seat. “Actually, we were just talking about my birthday plans for next Saturday! I was thinking about starting the day with an adult brunch at that fancy new restaurant that just opened up. Then we can walk off our meal with a nice and relaxing, but short stroll through the botanical gardens. After that, I was thinking we could go back to my house and take a vote between having a crafting race or baking my birthday cake, whichever we feel like doing-”

“Yo, you’re staring,” Buffy suddenly interrupted.

Cyrus looked away from the empty space he hadn’t realized he was staring into as he thought out loud. He looked at Buffy in confusion, but she wasn’t looking at him. Following her gaze, he was surprised to find that T.J. looking right at him. And not just looking. But… looking… with his eyes all soft and a smile painted on his lips.

The blush was immediate, making T.J.’s smile widen even more and he bit the corner of his lip before slowly turning to Buffy.

“Yeah, and?” he asked, cheekily.

“And, he’s taken! Keep your eyes to yourself!”

“Buffy, it’s fine, really,” Cyrus said, not wanting any conflict to start.

T.J. scowled at Buffy for a moment before glancing back at Cyrus. “Whatever.” he shrugged. “Sounds like a cool birthday to me, Goodman. Not one of those dumb parties with people who barely care about you getting drunk and throwing up all over your shit.”

Cyrus felt the pride swell in him at the Captain's approval. He knew most 16-year-olds would want to do something more energetic but he was happy that, even though T.J. was sporty and relatively popular, he still liked his birthday plans.

“So, am I invited?” T.J. asked, with a grin.

Cyrus blinked. “Oh… Um… Actually, it’s just going to be me, Andi, Buffy, and… Jonah. Not that it’s because I don’t want you to come!” he added, quickly, seeing the smile fall from the other boys’ face. “It’s just… it’s always been the four of us celebrating our birthdays together. Like a tradition. Andi’s boyfriend won’t be there either and he's our friend too.”

That seemed to placate the jock as he nodded in understanding.

After that, T.J. kept a normal amount of eye contact with the both of them. He didn’t say much after, but Cyrus still enjoyed his presence, once in a while catching a whiff of the citrus scent that seemed to envelop the older boy.

It was quite refreshing.

-

It was finally Cyrus’ big day, and he had planned the perfect “adult” soiree. Turning sixteen was a big step in his adult life and he planned to celebrate it accordingly. The GHC had always celebrated their birthdays with each other. Since Jonah was considered an original member, he was allowed to come, while unfortunately, Walker could not. But the other boy didn’t seem offended at the lack of invitation (he and Andi decided to celebrate their anniversary the next day, instead) and wished Cyrus a Happy Birthday and a good time.

The fancy brunch let them have virgin mimosas and they giggled as they clinked glasses, making sure to keep their pinky out, and spoke with snobby accents as they discussed how the food was “duhvine, dahrling” and “effervescent”.

After brunch, they visited the Botanical Gardens. Andi and Buffy had their arms linked together as they walked while Cyrus and Jonah held hands. They even discovered a flower that smelled like peanut butter and a tree looked like it had a crooked smile with teeth and everything! (Technically, the tree wasn’t part of the gardens but Cyrus thought it deserved a plaque too.)

After that, they went back to Cyrus’ place. Instead of his originally planned craft racing versus making a cake, they decided to make cupcakes and have a cupcake decorating contest.

Cyrus had won, but he honestly thought Andi’s design had turned out much better. (They probably let him win because it was his birthday so he savored it anyway.)

They put all their cupcakes on the dining room table together and stuck some candles on them, calling out for Cyrus’ parents to join them. Then, Andi, Buffy, Jonah, and his four parents all sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

It was one of the best days Cyrus had ever had and he knew he would never forget this moment with all his friends and family surrounding him as they waited for him to blow out his candles.

“Make a wish, honey!” his mom said, wiping a tear from one of her eyes.

What did he want to wish for? He couldn’t think of anything he wanted. Except maybe…

Closing his eyes, Cyrus blew out his candles in one blow. Everyone clapped and cheered and he felt so loved.

Now, it was time for presents.

“Oohh! Oohh! Open mine first!” Andi squealed, eagerly shoving a small rectangular box wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper towards him.

Cyrus eagerly unwrapped the present as Andi placed the bow from it on his head. It was a phone case with a very cool etching of a lizard on the back and interesting swirls and shapes that completely covered the rest of the case, even on the sides. It looked handmade.

“Wow, this is amazing! Thank you Andi!” Cyrus piped, enthusiastically as he hugged her tightly.

“Oh, it was nothing, Cy. Walker technically drew the lizard. Oh, it’s supposed to be a Komodo dragon, by the way. You talked about that one from the zoo for like three days, so that’s how I got the idea.”

“I love it! I’ve got to remember to thank Walker next time I see him.”

Buffy had disappeared while Cyrus was opening Andi’s gift, but returned just in time, holding a small woven basket.

“It’s not much, but Happy Birthday, Cy!”

The basket was filled to the brim with all of his favorite bathing products from LUSH, including the bath bomb that turned the water black that they all saw in one viral video. He was so excited to try it! There was also a large chocolate muffin from the artisanal bakery in the city and a small but weird tripod with flexible legs to go with his camera.

“Ooohhh a bath bomb! I’ve always wanted to try one of these! Thanks Buff!” Cyrus gave Buffy an equally tight hug.

“You’re welcome, but you better send me a snap when you use it,” she said, pointing at him expectantly.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to have a whole story dedicated to the experience.”

Now, Cyrus faced Jonah. The boy had been waiting, patiently, with his usual bright smile and a medium sized box, wrapped to the best of his abilities. Cyrus took a moment to appreciate the beauty that was now his boyfriend.

“Here, Cy! I put extra thought into it instead of something that just made me think of you this time.”

Jonah watched his every movement as Cyrus peeled back the paper to reveal…. A science kit. For kids. That he was pretty sure he owned when he was maybe eight.

“Oh… A science kit.” Cyrus tried to smile through his confusion.

“Yeah! You’re always talking about sciencey stuff! And because you're my CY Guy. Get it?” Jonah beamed at his thoughtfulness and placed a kiss on his cheek as threw an arm around him.

Cyrus vaguely understood Jonah’s line of thought, but he still couldn’t understand why Jonah would pick this to give him for his 16th birthday. Well, he supposed not everyone was good at gift giving. Besides, Jonah had other charms.

“Yeah, honey, it’s great!” he managed. “I’ll, um, play with it later. Maybe I can invent a growing potion or something,” he joked.

“Yeah! That’d be so cool! I could use that for basketball, actually. Everyone else is taller than me.”

Jonah laughed.

Cyrus chuckled and put the box away with his other gifts.

His last present was from all of his parents. His father proudly handed him a little box and he opened it to find a note inside that read: IOU 1 car.

“A CAR?!” he exclaimed in disbelief.

“An IOU for a car,” his Dad explained. “We all only recently decided that you’ve earned it, and you can’t get much use out of it until the summer anyway, so you’ll get it around then.”

Cyrus immediately jumped up and wrapped his arm around all four of his parents at once.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!” he chanted, practically bouncing on his feet as his parents returned his hug.

“I call permanent shotgun!” he heard Buffy say behind him.

“Now, this will be a huge responsibility, don’t make us regret it,” said his mother as they let him go.

“I won’t,” Cyrus promised, happily.

-

It wasn’t much later when his little party finally ended.

While Cyrus’ parents allowed the girls to sleepover, Jonah hadn’t been allowed to since they started high school. And now that they were dating, he most definitely wasn’t allowed to be alone in Cyrus’ bedroom anymore.

As he and the girls were clearing out the living room to set up a sleeping space, Cyrus took the time to put his presents away.

Finally away from the expectant green eyes of his boyfriend, Cyrus had a chance to really look at Jonah’s present and process what he felt about it.

A science kit. Meant for kids. Sure, he enjoyed reverting back to childish past times now and then (he didn’t mind going inside a bouncy castle or eating dinosaur-shaped graham crackers) but… a science kit?!?!

He couldn’t help the disappointment every time he looked at it. What on earth made Jonah think to get this of all things?

The longer he looked at it, the more Cyrus got a weird sense of deja vu. Suddenly, it came to him.

When he and Jonah were in elementary school, they used this exact same science kit to destroy as many products in the bathroom that their little hands could open. So, maybe it wasn’t a terrible present. Maybe Jonah was just trying to be nostalgic by reminding Cyrus of their longtime friendship turned boyfriendship?

As Cyrus thought back to Jonah’s words and usual happy expression, he still couldn’t help but doubt it. But whatever, it was the thought that counted anyway. He should be grateful to have a boyfriend who gave him presents.

Maybe subconsciously, Jonah had remembered and that was why he picked it out? Yeah, that was probably it.

He sighed and finished putting his gifts away. Then, he grabbed a ton of bed covers before rejoining his friends in the living room, where they were waiting with his favorite movie and a large bowl of popcorn.

Time to stay up all night with his favorite girls!

-

It was almost midnight. On the floor in front of the T.V., Cyrus was bundled up in covers, Buffy was stuffing her face with cupcake, and Andi looked like she was about to pass out.

Their movie was almost over when Cyrus’ phone lit up with a text. His heart skipped a beat. It was from T.J.

Come outside.

Pushing the covers off of him, he got up from the floor and padded over the window. He pulled the curtain back a bit and peered through the glass.

Across the street, T.J. was leaning against his car, hands in the pocket of his hoodie and his gaze trained towards Cyrus’ house.

Smiling at the sight, Cyrus pulled back from the window. He stuffed his feet into his slippers before rushing to foyer so he could grab a jacket.

“Wherd youf goin’?” Buffy asked, her mouth full of cupcake.

“I’ll be right back” was all he said as he quietly slipped out the door and into the chilly night.

Cyrus felt the giddiness well up more and more with each step he took towards T.J. As he got closer, he noticed T.J.’s usually gelled back hair was free of the stuff. The dark blonde strands were messy like they had been swept back with a hand. Cyrus longed to touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked.

“Hey, birthday boy,” TJ greeted, bringing Cyrus in for a quick but tight hug.

“That’s birthday man to you, mister,” he replied, grinning when they parted.

TJ chuckled. “Oh, right, my apologies.” He reached into his hoodie pocket. “Here you go, birthday man.”

He handed Cyrus a small box. It was a simple orange box that had a little ribbon on the top corner, one that Cyrus knew often held jewelry or accessories. Andi had a whole collection of them.

Removing the top, Cyrus released a gasp.

Lying on a simple bed of white foam was a silver necklace. And not just any old necklace. The silver pendant was of a Brontosaurus with cute little triangles on its back.

“Sorry it’s not much,” T.J. said with a small sheepish smile, “When you first said something about your birthday I was hoping to take you somewhere nice or something, but, well, you know…” T.J. shrugged his shoulders, looking a little sad. “Anyway, you mentioned once that you liked that Little Foot dinosaur from Land Before Time so I thought you might like it. I can get you something else if you’re not a necklace guy…man,” he corrected himself.

While the athlete talked, Cyrus felt the inexplicable urge to cry as he picked up the necklace. He took a deep watery breath as he ran a finger over the little triangles. It looked like Little Foot’s mom. And he loved it. He loved it so much.

“Cyrus?” TJ asked worriedly. “Are you-”

Then, before he realized it, Cyrus was crying. Hot tears fell from his tear ducts and he couldn’t stop them.

“Whoa, hey, what’s wrong?”

T.J. immediately stepped closer and pulled him into a hug. Cyrus rested his head against the hoodie-clad chest.

The familiar sweet and tart scent of lemon made his tears fall even faster and he could only dig his head further into the comforting scent, unable to voice his vague but extreme disappointment and frustration at Jonah mixed with the feeling of gratitude at T.J.’s simple gift.

How come this guy that he had known for only a few short months seem to remember the little details about him? How did he manage to come up with a most thoughtful gift that made him feel special?

Yet, Jonah, who had known him since childhood, didn’t even remember his birthday and had given him a gift that made Cyrus feel like the guy barely knew him at all. Not to mention, he had been strangely distant, lately.

Taking several deep breaths, Cyrus tried to get his emotions back under control. He could be so sensitive sometimes. He felt so silly, crying because of gifts.

A warm hand rubbed his back comfortingly as T.J. lightly swayed them side to side as he whispered comforting words into his ear.

Finally, Cyrus’ sobs quieted to sniffles. Yet, he refused to let go of T.J. He was comfortable and warm to hug and the night was cold.

“You wanna talk about it?” T.J. asked into his hair.

Cyrus shook his head, not moving from his spot.

“Okay.”

-

Humming to himself, Cyrus methodically arranged his books and notebooks in his locker, knowing that he wouldn’t have the time to do so after school. It was Friday and he and his boyfriend were going on a movie date that afternoon!

Jonah wanted to see the new DC superhero movie that just came out and although Cyrus wasn’t the most knowledgeable with comic-based movies, he was still looking forward to it. He was sure that he was going to have a good time.

“Hey.”

Speaking of.

Cyrus turned around to beam at Jonah. “Hi, honey!”

Jonah flashed him a small smile. “So, uh, about our date today...”

“Oh, yeah, I checked the movie times this morning during study hall. We can catch the 3:30 showing if we leave immediately after school and-.”

“Yeah, um, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Jonah interrupted, gently. “So a couple of guys invited me to this thing after school and I kind of want to go.”

Cyrus blinked. “Oh. Well, I don’t mind a change of plans.” He was open to making new friends, especially if they were Jonah’s friends. “Where are we going?”

At that, Jonah cringed. “It’s… not really your thing, Cy.”

Cyrus furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“It’s wall climbing.”

“Oh…”

Well, he wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but Cyrus wouldn’t mind trying it out. He was trying to broaden his horizons. “So, I can’t go?”

“Well, you can, if you want, but it’s not really your thing, right? I don’t want you to be bored or fall off the wall or something.”

Well, ouch. Message received. “Oh. Well, I guess so,” Cyrus managed, trying not to show his hurt.

Was he really that bad at physical activities that his own boyfriend didn’t have faith in him?

“We can see that movie on Sunday!” Jonah tried to compromise.

“I have plans with Andi and Buffy, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

Jonah looked like he was trying to find another solution but couldn’t come up with one. He flashed Cyrus a sheepish smile.

The boy sighed. “It’s fine, Jonah. We don’t have to see the movie.”

“Oh, okay, great! I’ll text ya later.”

“Okay.”

Jonah pecked his cheek before bounding off.

Sighing again, Cyrus turned back to his locker, glaring at his History textbook, as if it had done him the world’s greatest injustice.

He may not be a superhero buff like Jonah, but he still wanted to hang out with him. He couldn’t remember the last time they had a date with just the two of them.

Now that he thought about it, had they actually gone on an actual date aside from that time at the zoo?

“Hey, Mr. Manager.”

Cyrus turned his head. “Oh, hey, T.J.”

The other boy frowned and Cyrus realized that he was still scowling.

“What’s wrong?” T.J. asked, leaning his back against the locker next to his. “Why the long face? It doesn’t suit you.”

“Um… thanks? Anyway, it’s nothing.”

T.J. scoffed. “Then why don't I believe you?”

Cyrus chuckled, humorlessly. “How do you read me so well?”

“I’m bad at Math but I rock in English class.” T.J.’s face softened. “So, what’s wrong?”

Shutting his locker, Cyrus sighed again before leaning his back against it. He clutched his book close to his chest.

“Jonah… kinda… blew off our date. We were supposed to go to the movies after school today but he made some last minute plans with some other people so… yeah.”

“Oh… that sucks. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault,” he mumbled.

“Well, do you want me to go to the movies with you? I don’t have work today so I’m free.”

He was so sweet. It finally made Cyrus smile.

“Nah, I don’t really want to see it anymore. Jonah was the one who wanted to see it, anyway.”

“Understandable.” T.J. subtly moved closer, his shoulder pressing against Cyrus’ own. “So… since you aren’t doing anything anymore and I didn’t get to take you out for your birthday… Wanna go to the mall? You promised to help me not look like a freshman disaster when I go to college.”

Cyrus turned his head to look at the older boy. He looked hopeful and a tad bit nervous. Cyrus often wondered where all the confidence he showed on the court would go whenever he spoke to him. It was kind of cute, the way T.J. pretended to be cocky around him but Cyrus had already seen his soft side so it was ineffective.

“Well?”

Cyrus blinked, realizing that he hadn’t answered the other’s question yet. “Ah, sure! Sounds good!”

And just like that, T.J.’s face lit up. “Yeah?”

Cyrus laughed. “Did you want me to say ‘no’?”

“No! I mean… cool, cool.” If T.J. was a puppy, his tail would be wagging.

Cyrus laughed, amused at the thought.

RING! RING! RING!

“There’s the bell,” he said, pushing himself off the locker. “I’ll see you later, then?”

T.J. nodded. “I’ll wait for you by the parking lot entrance.”

They parted and Cyrus made his way to class, his mood much lighter and his excitement back.

-

“So, we heard you and Jonah aren’t going to the movies anymore,” Buffy said, sympathetically.

Class had ended for the day and they were finally free for the weekend! The three of them were making their way through the throng of students heading for the exit so they could go home.

Walking in between the two girls, Cyrus just shrugged. “Yeah, he made some last minute plans.”

Andi nudged his shoulder with his. “Do you want to come to The Spoon with us, then? We’re grabbing food then visiting Dad at the Red Rooster right after. I heard they got new saxophones for you to try out!”

Cyrus chuckled. “As tempting as that is, it’s fine. T.J. invited me to the mall.”

Both girls’ heads swiveled to look at him, their mouths open in shock.

“You’re going with T.J.?” echoed Buffy.

“To the mall?” Andi added.

Cyrus’ cheeks reddened. “Um… yes?”

“Is Jonah okay with that?” Buffy asked.

“Why does he need to know?”

“Because he’s your boyfriend and you’re hanging out with a guy who you know has a gigantic crush on you?”

“Oh.” Cyrus shrugged. “Well, T.J. and I are just friends.”

“But, at some point, you liked him,” Andi pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but… We’re just friends now and he understands that I’m with Jonah.”

It wasn’t like he had ever given Jonah a reason to not trust him. They had been best friends for the longest time so they trusted each other. Surely, Jonah knew that nothing was going on between him and T.J.

“But, I’ll text him to let him know, anyway,” he added, taking out his phone.

He quickly moved to the side of the hallway to type.

Hey, I’m going to the mall with T.J. Have fun with your friends! I’ll text you tonight!

And, sent.

Seemingly satisfied, his two best friends linked their arms with his and together, they made their way out of school.

-

Bored as he sat on an uncomfortable padded chair, Cyrus scrolled through his phone, jumping in between apps, and checking his messages to see if Jonah had responded to his text (he hadn’t).

T.J. had been in the changing room for only five minutes but Cyrus was already feeling impatient. He wanted to see how he looked!

Cyrus had never seen him wear anything else other than graphic tees and hoodies so he skipped those. Instead, he had picked out a couple of simple but nice button-down shirts, soft sweaters, and dark wash jeans.

“T.J., are you still alive in there?” he called out.

“One more minute!”

So, Cyrus went back to his phone, scrolling and checking his messages.

Finally, he heard the dressing room door creak open and looked up. His breath hitched as T.J. stepped out, holding his hands out in front of him. He had chosen the light blue-green checkered shirt with a collar and topped it with soft a dark blue cardigan, unbuttoned. The outfit was finished off by the jeans Cyrus had chosen.

The athlete smirked at him before spinning around to show off the full outfit.

“What do you think?” he said, cockily popping the collar. “Handsome, right?”

Smiling, Cyrus stood up and walked over to him. Reaching out, he popped the collar back down and smoothed it out.

“Very handsome,” he agreed with a smile.

They simultaneously turned towards one of the huge mirrors in the corner. Standing next to each other, the difference between their heights and forms were crystal clear.

Cyrus was about a head shorter than T.J. It made sense for the other to be so much taller than him, since he did play sports and the most exercise Cyrus did was walking to and from school. And although T.J. looked perfectly handsome in his usual clothes, the younger teen had to admit that seeing him in a more “mature” getup was a sight for sore eyes.

The shirt matched the jock’s eyes, lighting up the soft green even more. And the slim-fitted dark jeans highlighted his long legs, making him appear even taller.

Cyrus couldn’t stop looking at him.

“You clean up well, Captain,” he commented, thoroughly impressed while patting himself in the back for the excellent choice.

“Why, thank you, Mr. Manager,” T.J. said with a smirk. “You know… if you had chosen me, we’d be a very good looking and fashionable couple.”

Cyrus’ heart skipped a beat as his cheeks heated up.

T.J. met his eyes in the mirror and his smirk diminished. “Sorry, that was out of line.”

Cyrus chuckled. “It’s okay.” And under his breath, he added, “It’s not like I hadn’t thought about it.”

T.J.’s head swiveled toward him, looking shocked. “What?”

Shit, he heard me , Cyrus mentally cursed to himself.

“Um… Uh…” Cyrus looked out back into the store, hoping to find a distraction.

Then, his eyes caught a rack of varsity-style jackets.

“Oh, those look nice,” he commented, avoiding T.J.’s eyes. “Um, why don’t you try on the rest? I’m gonna check out the jackets.”

And, like the coward he was, Cyrus escaped.

-

They spent a good two hours at the mall, browsing stores and T.J. having an impromptu fashion show in front of Cyrus. In the end, T.J. bought a couple of new shirts, a pair of the dark wash jeans, and a dark green varsity jacket with a hood and a “T” on the front pocket that Cyrus had found.

When they got sick of clothes, they explored shoes. At the store, T.J. had pointed out a super expensive pair of sneakers that was apparently by a famous basketball player whom Cyrus didn’t know but the Captain was so adorably excited about it that he just nodded along as he rambled. At some point, they even invaded Sunglass Hut and tried everything before leaving the store empty-handed and receiving the ire of the salesman. And before heading home, T.J. bought them both pretzels and lemonade.

Cyrus could honestly say that he had a wonderful time shopping with T.J. This was the longest they had ever spent alone in each other’s presence and he got to know the older boy a lot more along the way.

His favorite fruit were strawberries (delicious!) and he hated brussels sprouts (Cyrus did too). He and his sister were a year apart but she was smart and skipped a grade so she was in college now. When he was in middle school, his dad would take him dirt biking to relieve his stress so he was practically a pro but he wanted to focus on basketball, his first love, so he hadn’t ridden in a while. And, he was a cat person but he also loved dogs. (And he smiled and bit his lip anytime he got Cyrus to blush.)

T.J. stopped the car outside Cyrus’ house.

The boy smiled at him. “Thank you for today,” he said as he unbuckled his seatbelt and gathered his things.

“No, thank you. Wait, Cyrus, before you go.” T.J. reached into the backseat and grabbed one of the shopping bags. With a gentle smile, he handed it to him. “I got this for you. As thanks for helping me out.”

“T.J., you didn’t have to,” Cyrus said, feeling touched as he received the bag. “Can I open it?”

The other boy nodded, eagerly.

Cyrus opened the bag and pulled back the tissue paper wrapped around it.

“Wow, thank you,” he breathed out, as he eyed the dark blue varsity jacket in his hands. “Wait, isn’t this…”

“The same as the one you picked out for me? Yeah. But this one doesn’t have a hood. And this color makes your eyes stand out. Do you know how good you look in dark blue?” T.J. smirked.

Blushing (T.J. bit his lip again), Cyrus stuffed the jacket back into the bag, and turned to the other boy, the smile on his face showing just exactly how much fun he had with T.J.

“Thank you so much for the jacket,” he said again. “Have a great weekend. Text me!”

T.J. grinned. “I will. And I’ll look good doing it.”

Cyrus laughed before grabbing his things and getting out of the car and headed up the steps of his home. He turned back quickly to wave goodbye at T.J. before entering through the door.

In his room, he put all his things down before taking out his cell phone and turning it on. Instantly, Cyrus’ face fell.

There were no new messages.

Jonah never replied to his text.

-

The next day, before heading to the morning Shabbat service with his mom and step-dad, Cyrus decided to stop by the Beck’s house. He had waited all night for Jonah to text him back, but he got nothing so he was getting worried.

The front door was answered Jonah’s mom, who greeted him a ‘good morning’.

“I’m so sorry for disturbing you so early, but is Jonah home?” Cyrus asked, clasping his hands in front of him.

“Didn’t he tell you? He slept over at a friend’s house last night,” Mrs. Beck told him.

“Oh.”

No, Jonah did not tell him, at all.

-

That Sunday night, Cyrus was in his room, binging Queer Eye (he got inspired after the successful shopping trip with T.J. and the show gave amazing advice). He had been at it for hours and was finally able to force himself to stop before watching another episode - his eyes were getting all droopy.

As he reached for the remote, there was a loud “BOOM! CRACK!” from outside and the world turned dark.

Cyrus screamed.

For a moment, he strained his ears to listen for his parents, praying that he hadn’t woken them up. It was late, after all, and he had school in the morning. But, everything was still and quiet.

Craning his neck from his bed, he managed a peek through the window outside. The other houses were dark too and so were the streetlights. Shadyside had no power.

“BOOM!”

Thunder rolled outside, hurling rain at his window. Cyrus started to shake, realizing that he was alone and there was nothing he could do. He should try to go to sleep but he knew that every clap of thunder would just send another bolt of fear through him.

He hated storms with a passion. He needed a distraction. But the power was off and there was no way he was going downstairs alone in the darkness.

Maybe someone else was up? They were high school students after all. He knew he couldn’t call Buffy, she had a strict sleeping schedule and Andi couldn’t stay up past midnight to save her life so she was likely asleep as well.

But, Jonah stayed up late, sometimes. He had a habit of watching random YouTube videos until he fell asleep.

Besides, he really missed him. His boyfriend had only sent him one text all weekend, just to let him know that he was okay, that he did have fun with his friends and made some new ones, and he would be hanging out with them.

So, he called Jonah.

Buuuurrr… Buuuurrr… Buuuurrr…. Sorry 567-

Frowning when he heard the voicemail message, Cyrus hung up and tried again. He waited several minutes. No answer except for the voicemail message.

Another rumble warned of more thunder looming. And it was somehow getting louder.

A pit of anxiety grew in Cyrus’ stomach as he scrolled through his contacts list. He stopped at a name, his thumb hovering over it, hesitantly.

Cyrus didn’t really want bother him. He figured he was likely to be asleep too.

“BOOM!”

Deciding to hell with it, Cyrus decided to try anyway and tapped on “Not So Scary TJ”.

Buuuurrr… Buuuurrr… Buuu-

“’Lo.” T.J. said his voice heavily clouded with sleep. “Wha’s up, Cy? Sumthin’ wrong?”

Cyrus felt his heart speeding as he resisted the urge to squeal at hearing T.J.’s sleepy voice. It was so cute!

“Hey, Teej. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Iss’alright, give me a sec.”

Cyrus heard some ruffling on T.J.’s end followed by a, “Huh, why is everything so dark?”

He sounded more awake now. Just then the loudest crack of thunder shook the house, and Cyrus wasn’t able to contain his whine of fear in time.

“Hey, you okay?” T.J. asked.

“I’m f-fine.”

“You scared of the thunder?”

“Yes, but don’t make fun of me! I had a very traumatic experience when I was younger.”

T.J. chuckled. “I won’t make fun of you, don’t worry.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Cyrus was grateful at that. “People usually do.”

“Well, that’s not very nice of them. Is that why you called? Because of the storm?”

Cyrus nodded his head even though he knew he couldn’t see it.

It was as if T.J. saw the action anyway because he continued, “Why are you scared of thunder?”

“Well, my first night of sleeping in my own bed, there was a surprise storm. I didn’t think I was allowed in my parents' room anymore, so I stayed and got scarred for life instead.”

T.J. chuckled softly in his ear. Cyrus crawled under the covers and focused on the older’s voice instead of the scary sounds coming from his window.

“No wonder you’re scared. I would’ve pissed my pants if it were me.”

“Yeah, right. You?”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I was a real wimp as a kid. I was scared of everything. Luckily, I grew out of it.”

Cyrus laughed. “I’m glad one of us did.”

“You want to hear what I’m still scared of, though? It has to be a secret.”

“ You’re scared of something? Tell me right now!”

“Alright, chill. It’s not that surprising. Everyone’s scared of something. For me... I can’t stand birds.”

Cyrus blinked. “Birds? Seriously?”

“Seriously! A dove attacked me at my cousin’s wedding once, and now I know how evil they really are.”

Cyrus laughed, surprised the confident jock would be afraid of something so small and fragile.

“Hey, don’t laugh! They can fly! And their beaks hurt! And they have claws!”

“Technically, they’re called talons,” Cyrus corrected, giggling again.

Soon, T.J.’s warm chuckle join him.

“You still scared?” T.J. asked before letting out a loud yawn.

Cyrus hadn’t even realized it, but he had almost completely forgotten about the still stormy weather.

“Not anymore. Thanks. I should let you go back to sleep.”

There was some shuffling on the other side. “You don’t have to hang up. I can stay on the phone until the storm ends.”

“That’s okay, I think it’s gonna storm until morning anyway.”

“Then I’ll hang up in the morning. If you want me too.”

“Really? You’d stay on the phone with me?”

“Yeah, it’s like I like talking to you or something. Weird, huh?”

Cyrus smiled and felt the warm comfort from the conversation wash over him.

“I like talking to you too, Teej. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Chapter Text

Cyrus was starting to feel the pressures of life drown him. Things between him and Jonah had gotten strained, even though they had only been dating for like a month. And the worst part was, Cyrus couldn’t figure out how to fix it.

It was about the point in the school year that free time was only spent studying for the first of the Important Tests one had to take to prove your worth and may or may not set the stone for your attractability to future colleges.

Oh, and there was also the fact that the basketball team was due to have its first game any day now, and he hadn’t even had time to plan out which snacks would have the best hydration to vitamin ratio.

As Cyrus contemplated the reasons why he volunteered for all of this extra stress while he got ready for school, a shining object hanging on a hook on his dresser caught his eye. It was the necklace T.J. had given him for his birthday.

Walking over, he reached out and traced the slight dents the triangles made. He was automatically hit with the warm memory of T.J.’s hug and how comforting it was to be held in his strong embrace at the moment when he truly needed it.

He took the necklace off the hook and put it on. The pendant dangled against his sternum and felt a little heavier than he expected. He shivered from the cold metal, but as it quickly and noticeably warmed, Cyrus mentally declared it his lucky necklace. The warmth reminded him of T.J.’s hug.

Finally dressed and prepped, he began making his way out the door, but something made him he stop and turn back. Hanging on a coat hanger in his closet was a dark blue varsity jacket. The one T.J. had gotten him when they went to the mall. He traced his steps back to stand in front of it.

For a moment, Cyrus hesitated, worried about what Jonah would think.

But, then, he remembered being ignored during their walk home for a phone. Being blown off on their date. The one (seriously, just one?!) text over the weekend.

It was just a jacket. Cyrus didn’t have anything to hide. It was a simple thank you gift from a friend, and he had just gone shopping after all. Why shouldn’t he wear it?

Making up his mind, Cyrus grabbed the jacket and put it on.

He took one last look at himself in the mirror and nodded. He did look good in dark blue.

-

Jonah exited his front door and bounded down the steps to reach Cyrus, who was waiting for him by the sidewalk, as usual. All of a sudden, he stopped halfway, his eyes trained on Cyrus’ jacket. He cocked his head to the side, brows furrowed, before quickly resuming his walk towards him.

He leaned in for their usual morning kiss. “That’s a new jacket, right? I mean, I don’t remember you having a jacket like that,” he asked, immediately.

Cyrus felt his chest twitch. Oh no. Here comes the guilt.

“Yeah, I got it this weekend,” he replied, casually.

He had nothing to hide. He had to remember that.

Still looking serious, Jonah nodded. “It looks good on you.”

Then, he smiled and grabbed Cyrus’ hand, pulling him in closer to kiss his cheek.

Cyrus felt himself blush, quickly. It was the most attention Jonah had given him in days and it felt like it had been too long.

During that walk to school, for the first time in weeks, it felt like it used to. Just him and Jonah joking around, their hands intertwined.

As they passed by the park, Cyrus instinctively turned his head to try and catch a glimpse of the playground. There was no one in the swings. Cyrus thought they looked rather lonely like that.

-

Jonah had been affectionate for two days now and it was taking Cyrus by surprise. He was used to his boyfriend being averse to public displays of affection. Yet, since yesterday, he had been all touchy and flirty… so unlike himself. And it was confusing the fuck out of him.

Right before going into the locker room before basketball practice, Jonah had even pulled him in and kissed him, deep and long, right there in the hallway.

Even as he responded with equal enthusiasm, Cyrus couldn't help but wonder. When was the last time they had kissed like this? Weeks. Cyrus couldn’t help but compare it to the last time it had happened...when he still felt sparks. But, now...

When they had to break the kiss for air, both were a little flushed.

Jonah looked a little sheepish as he smiled. “See ya in a bit, Cy Guy,” he said before leaving a still stunned Cyrus standing there with his conflicted feelings.

And as he headed for the supply closet, he felt the guilt from earlier grow the longer he contemplated Jonah’s sudden interest in kissing him everywhere. But he shouldn’t feel guilty about kissing his boyfriend. That was partially what he was for. They were boyfriends. Kissing was normal.

Right?

Oh, he did not like this feeling.

-

The guilt only continued to bubble and boil within him as he sat on one of the benches with the cart full of equipment next to him. So, like any mature adult would, he doomed himself to living with the guilt and bottled it all up.

The gym doors burst open and the team started spilling out. He caught Jonah’s gaze, who eagerly waved at him before giving his attention back to his teammate, still chatting away next to him.

As usual, T.J. was one of the last to enter. After a quick glance around (probably looking for Coach Mullen), he headed straight for Cyrus.

“Hey, Goodman. What’s up?” he greeted with a handsome grin.

“Hey, T.J.” Cyrus smiled, feeling the warm weight of the necklace on his chest.

“So… you come here often?” T.J. winked.

Cyrus snorted as he laughed. “That was terrible.”

“But it made you laugh,” T.J. pointed out, smiling.

“Touché.”

The sudden squeak of sneakers made Cyrus turn his attention to it. He felt another stab of guilt, a heavy nervous feeling settling in his stomach. Jonah was only a few feet away.

“Um, Coach wants to see you, babe,” Jonah said, nodding to where the Coach was now waiting by one of the nets.

The “babe” caught him a little off-guard. Since when did Jonah call him ‘babe’? It was usually just Cy or Cy Guy. Nonetheless, he decided to ignore it. Just like how he was ignoring the sudden strange tension hanging between the two jocks staring at each other in front of him.

“Oh, right! I better go. Uh… bye, guys.”

Cyrus hurried over to Coach. He took a quick glance back at the two behind him.

Oh no. They didn’t look angry, exactly. But they definitely weren’t smiling either.

This was going to be a loooong practice, Cyrus could feel it.

-

“Today’s practice will be different,” Coach announced to the rest of the team. “We have a game coming up, so we’ll be running plays from here on out. T.J., I want you to pair up with Jonah for the rest of practice.”

OH NO! Coach, why!? Why do you want me to suffer?!? Cyrus practically screamed in his head.

“I think the two of you could be the key to the championship,” the man continued. “But, first, I need you two to learn how to work together. The rest of you will practice in your positions as normal. We have several plays to learn and not much time. So, let’s hustle boys!”

The team began to move to their positions, chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

Cyrus scanned the court for either Jonah or T.J., needing to see how they felt about this sudden partnership.

T.J. was standing stock still at his spot, his hands in fists as he glared at everyone who passed him.

Coach Mullen was telling him something but Cyrus could barely hear him as Jonah suddenly entered his peripheral. The other boy was slowly approaching the Captain.

Oh no, oh no, oh no!!! Cyrus screamed in his head.

This wasn’t gonna end well was it? He had to do something, right? But what could he do? What was he even trying to stop?

All he knew was that ever since he and Jonah started dating, his boyfriend and T.J. did not mix, and he really didn't need them to.

Something in Cyrus sank as he resigned himself to being a passenger in this crash. He could only watch as T.J. finally lowered his head to look down at Jonah, who was a good head shorter than he was. Jonah didn’t back down, lifting his chin up to meet the Captain’s steely gaze.

The two were partners now after all. What could Cyrus do? He was just the team manager.

-

He felt the tension building in the air throughout practice. He was constantly waiting for something, anything, to happen between the two green-eyed teens.

But, to Cyrus’ relief, nothing did…so far.

Halfway through practice, Coach praised the two for exceeding the potential he predicted in them working together.

And they did work well together. Jonah’s speed and agility allowed him to sneak the ball away or suddenly pop up where others weren’t expecting. Meanwhile, T.J.’s height and flawless maneuvers made him a force to be reckoned with, able to be close to the basket and still catch a pass, before quickly making them another few points. Together they were a point making machine.

The end of practice game was almost over when something finally happened. Almost like a volcano of pent-up frustration finally erupted.

The other team had just managed to steal the ball away and had passed it to an open player. He booked it to the opposite net and quickly made a shot.

“Max! What the hell are you doing?! You were supposed to be blocking him!” T.J. snapped.

Gone was his cool and calm exterior from before.

“Dude, it's just practice,” Max pointed out, rolling his eyes. “I'll do better next time.”

“It’s not just practice anymore! We only have four chances to get this right before the game! And you had one job! Block! Sam!”

“Cool it, Captain!” Coach called out, intervening between the two players. He chanced a warning glare at T.J. before turning to Max. “He has a point, though, Brenner. You have to take this as seriously as you would a real game. Or else you’ll show up playing the same way you do when you’re ‘just’ practicing. Understood?”

Max hung his head. “Yes, Coach.”

“Good. Now, back to the game, boys!”

Cyrus tried to catch T.J.’s eye but the Captain had already turned away. So, instead, he sought out an upset-looking Max. As team manager, he was supposed to help raise the team’s morale.

“It’s okay, Max! You got this!” he cheered.

The teen raised an eyebrow at him in confusion before breaking into a smile and flashing him a thumbs up.

Cyrus nodded proudly to himself and sent him a thumbs up back.

-

The same thing would occur over and over again in the following practices.

On the court, T.J. was snappy and sarcastic with his constant criticisms of his teammate’s skills. Cyrus found himself constantly shouting encouragements to deflect any bad feelings and even started bringing in treats in the form tangerines to keep them motivated.

But, off the court, T.J. acted like the same sweet guy that Cyrus had gotten to know and was used to. Sometimes, Cyrus would even see him calmly chatting with the same player he had snapped at during practice.

Cyrus asked him about it once during one of their texting sessions. T.J. explained that he was simply critiquing their poor performance so they would be aware of which mistakes to avoid for the actual game.

We can’t make basic mistakes if we want to win.

Don’t worry mr. Manager I always talk to them after and give them tips.

(Cyrus had joked that he was like a strict dad to his team. But, then, T.J. retorted that if he was the dad, then Cyrus was the mom who took care of them and made sure they had what they needed. Feeling embarrassed, Cyrus stopped with the family analogies after that.)

Meanwhile, Jonah was as cheerful as ever. The dimpled teen was constantly grinning and high fiving everyone at practice, his self-esteem boosted by the frequent amazing assists he would make for T.J. coupled with the admiration the rest of the team was suddenly giving him.

Surprisingly, he also continued to give Cyrus the attention he had been missing from his boyfriend. They had several study dates (it was still Important Test Time after all), with some very enjoyable but short make-out sessions in between when they both thought they could use a “break”.

Two weeks of stress, tests, and basketballs flew by.

Before he knew it, it was the day. G-Day. Cyrus felt more ready and excited for a sport than he ever had before in his entire life.

He had done all the necessary research, the discussions with Coach, and checking the team budget to make sure they had enough.

With a basket of tangerines and a Gatorade-filled cooler by his side, he was ready for Game Day.

-

The game had been surprisingly stressful. Cyrus had never been so invested before but now, there was only three minutes left on the clock and their team was only one point behind. T.J. and Jonah had helped make most of them, but the other team had one guy who was skilled in stealing the ball and made several three-pointers before anyone had a chance to stop him.

Leaning forward on the bench with his fingers in fists under his chin, Cyrus watched closely as Jonah managed to steal the ball and dribbled towards the net, where T.J. was quickly approaching, waiting to catch. By now, the other team had already figured out that T.J. was their best player, so their players were right on his heels.

Cyrus watched in horror as the enemy star player came at T.J. from the side at full force, reaching for the ball. The gym filled with the loud clap of crashing bodies, followed by the hollow thud of T.J.’s body landing on the wooden floor.

With a yelp, Cyrus jumped to his feet but didn’t move, unsure of what to do. The referee had run over to the Captain and kneeled beside him, firing off a couple of questions. With a scrunched up pained face, T.J. slowly sat up, moving the arm he had landed on in circling motions.

Cyrus sighed in relief when he saw T.J. nod at the referee as he got up. The referee made some signals, and the commentator announced that T.J. was allowed two free throws.

Holding his breath, Cyrus watched as T.J. got into position for the shot.

The Captain dribbled the ball a few times, took a deep breath, made the perfect L with his injured arm, jumped, and reached into the cookie jar.

Swoosh!

The crowd boomed in cheers. The game was now tied. They quieted again as T.J. set up the last shot.

Swoosh!

The gym filled with cheers as the crowd went wild! There were only a few seconds on the clock now. The crowd didn't quiet as the away team made a desperate attempt to make another point, but the timer buzzed.

They won? They won!!!

On the court, T.J. was instantly swarmed by his teammates, clapping his back and congratulating him. He was holding his arm at a strange angle, but his smile could still be seen even from the back of bleachers.

Cyrus stood there and waited, unsure of what to do or whether he was allowed to go out onto the court. Coach Mullen fondly ruffled his hair as he passed; the man looked like he might be tearing up, overwhelmed by the win. Some members of the team clapped Cyrus on the back and he congratulated them.

The moment he was sure it was okay, Cyrus rushed to the Captain. His worry had only lessened after all, not evaporated.

“T.J.! Are you alright?! Let me see your arm!”

“WE WON, MAN! WE WON!!”

T.J. pulled him into a fierce hug, his enthusiasm erasing Cyrus’ worries, instantly. He was surprised to find that he didn’t mind the layer of sweat that was currently covering the damp Captain, and squeezed him back just as tightly, now allowing himself to celebrate.

They had just won after over an hour of the lead team kept switching back and forth. No one knew how the game was going to end. But in the end, they were the Champs! (Kinda.)

T.J. pulled back a little, grinning wider than Cyrus had ever seen before. His green eyes were sparkling with happiness, bright under the fluorescent gym lights. Cyrus couldn’t help but smile back, his lips hurting from the stretch.

T.J.’s grin softened and he still hadn’t let go of Cyrus. His gaze moved down and Cyrus’ breath hitched, licking his lips subconsciously. Then, T.J.’s eyes flickered lower, widening in surprise, before looking back up at Cyrus with an amazed smile.

“Is that the necklace I got you?” he asked, finally letting Cyrus go.

His hand reached out towards the other boy’s neck. Cyrus repressed a shiver at the tingle that swept throughout his body as T.J.’s finger traced the chain before gently lifting the rest of the necklace out from the warm spot under his shirt, revealing the little dino glinting under the gym lights.

Cyrus chuckled. “Yeah, it’s my good luck charm! And, obviously, it works! Cause we won!”

Quick as a wink, T.J.’s cheeks blushed bright pink and he turned away from him, scanning the crowd behind him.

So cute.

“Um, I should probably find my mom,” he said, sheepishly. “She’ll probably want to take pictures and all that junk.”

Cyrus managed to successfully keep his face from falling. “Oh! Of course! I should go find… yeah. Anyway, congrats, Captain! You were amazing out there!”

“Thanks, Mr. Manager, but we couldn’t have done it without your cheers and tangerines.”

The teen grinned, proud that his efforts were recognized. “Just another service I provide.”

-

After T.J. left, Cyrus spent the next several minutes trying to find his boyfriend. It was so much easier to find the Captain since he was usually one of the tall ones and therefore was much easier to spot. But Jonah was normal-sized and blended in with crowds way too easily.

Finally, he found him by the locker rooms, talking and laughing with a group of teens he didn’t know. Well, he recognized a few from the soccer team and one guy was definitely in track with Marty, but the rest, he had no clue.

Jonah finally noticed him and broke away from the group.

“Cyrus!” He ran up to him and gave him a hug. “We won! We won our first game! Dude, this is so awesome! Come, I want you to meet the guys!”

He turned on his heels and headed back to the group, not checking to see if Cyrus was following.

As he got closer, Cyrus got a weird vibe from the guys, even though they all looked friendly enough. Nonetheless, he slowly followed.

“Guys, this is Cyrus. Cyrus, these are the guys!” Jonah said, excitedly. “You know, the ones I’ve been hanging with? That’s Carl, Josh, Ollie, Walter, and P.D.!”

He finished with a flourish, throwing an arm around the last guy’s shoulders.

He was tall, Cyrus noticed. And had shiny blonde hair and striking blue eyes.

The blonde, P.D., responded to Jonah's action by smiling at him and throwing an arm over his shoulders too, squeezing him closer.

That didn’t sit well with Cyrus.

“Don’t tell the others I said this, but he’s the coolest one,” Jonah pretended to whisper.

Hearing this, the others immediately protested and started loudly voicing their complaints all at once. Jonah and P.D. laughed.

“Aww, you know you're my favorite too, Jojo,” P.D. said, grinning so charmingly at his boyfriend.

Jojo?

Cyrus felt like throwing up.

“Anyway, they’re taking me out for pizza to celebrate. Wanna come?”

Thinking of food at that moment just made Cyrus’ stomach lurch in the most unpleasant way.

“Um, I have to get home,” he managed, already taking a few steps back. “Raincheck?”

Jonah nodded. “Yeah, sure! See you later Cy.”

Not even bothering to give Jonah a goodbye kiss, Cyrus turned on his heels and rushed out of there, the sound of the loud teens immediately starting up again, but only one making his belly churn.

-

For days, Cyrus had felt guilty about how poorly he had responded to meeting Jonah's new friends. So, when his boyfriend told him that he would be spending time with them at the park that Saturday, he decided to surprise Jonah by joining them on their outing and take the chance to actually get to know his boyfriend's friends. He knew that you shouldn’t just assume things about people, anyway. It never turned out well.

So, the first thing he did after Saturday lunch with his parents, was change out of his formal Shabbat service clothes and into more casual ones and headed for the park.

When he arrived, he immediately looked around for Jonah in his favorite spots like the benches by the giant lawn and by the ice cream cart, but he couldn’t find a rowdy group of teenagers anywhere. Not even when he widened his search to include the playground and the pond where all the ducks and geese hung out. Not even when he finally ended up where he started at the benches. He even read Jonah’s text three times to make sure he got the information correctly.

Finally sighing in defeat, Cyrus had no choice but to accept the fact that the group had obviously gone to some secondary location like the reckless youths they were.

While the walk in the park has been fruitless, it was also quite lovely and he now had a strong craving to follow it with a lovely time baby tatering at The Spoon.

Already smiling at the thought of the fried golden baskets of love, Cyrus headed for the beloved diner, a skip in his step. He entered The Spoon and settled himself in an empty booth by the window, his eyes on the prize menu he knew by heart. He was deciding on whether he was in a chocolate or a strawberry milkshake kinda mood when a peculiarly familiar sound stuck out in the midst of the restaurant chatter. A laugh he knew anywhere.

Cyrus felt his heart thud loudly as a terrible dread filled his body. Slowly, he turned in his seat to face the sound. The first thing he saw was Jonah, laughing easily. His familiar green eyes wrinkled with mirth gazing warmly at his only other companion at the small table for two on the other side of the diner.

Jonah wasn't with his friends at the park. He was here. With P.D.

Chapter Text

Cyrus felt an indignant hurt flood through him at the sight of the teen Ken doll making his boyfriend laugh. Before he knew what he was doing, his feet were carrying him closer to the pair. Neither noticed his approach until he he opened his mouth to speak.

“Jonah?” No part of him wanted to, but he reluctantly tilted his body to also face the other one. “...and P.D.”

He hated himself. Why did his manners always win?

“Hey, Cy. I thought you were staying home today?”

No, he didn’t say he was staying home but then again, Jonah never even asked if he had plans.

He turned back to his boyfriend. “Can we talk? Outside?”

“Sure.” Jonah shrugged. “I'll be right back,” he promised P.D.

“Take your time,” the blonde said with a charming smile. “Your taters will keep me company.”

Jonah laughed, his dimples at full force. “Yeah, I guess that's fair, dude.”

Unable to listen to them flirt any longer, Cyrus turned and walked out of the diner.

He heard the door chime behind him and he made a mental command not to cry, no matter how much the sob caught in his throat threatened to jump out.

“What's up?” Jonah asked, with a calm smile.

Cyrus frowned. “What's up? You said you were hanging out with your amazing new friends at the park, but instead, I find you here getting all close to some guy!”

Jonah’s smile disappeared, replaced with look of confusion. “He's not just some guy, Cy. He's my friend. And you met him so you already know that. Besides, we did go to the park. Then the other guys wanted to see a movie, but me and Paul already saw it, so we came here instead.”

Cyrus’ eye twitched. “Paul?”

Jonah froze for a second. “Uh, that's P.D.'s real name,” he said, sheepishly.

The atmosphere turned awkward as Cyrus took all the information in. So, Jonah hadn't lied. He had already gone to the park with his friends. Now that he thought about it, the text never really specified the time of his plans, and he really didn't think Jonah would be the cheating type. The guilt from his accusation came with his realization.

Cyrus felt terrible and knew he had to apologize.

“Besides, what's the difference between us hanging out and you hanging out with T.J. all the time?”

Until he said that.

Cyrus felt hurt and guilt was over him more than anything else. There should have been a huge difference.

“What's that supposed to mean?” he asked, rather defensively. “What does T.J. have to do with any of this?”

This time, it was Jonah who was frowning. “I know he likes you. You know he likes you. Heck, practically the entire team knows that he likes you. He’s not really subtle, you know. But, you still hang out with him.”

“B-Because he’s my friend.”

“Exactly. And Paul is my friend.”

“Jonah, I-...” He trailed off when Jonah let out a frustrated groan.

“Look, Cy, if you can be friends with whoever you want, even a guy who likes you and knows you have a damn boyfriend, then why can’t I?”

Cyrus opened his mouth but no words came out. He couldn't think of a single response. He never really thought about how his friendship with T.J. would be seen by people on the outside looking in.

Still frowning, Jonah shook his head and turned to head inside. “My friend is waiting for me. I'll see you later.”

As his back disappeared through the door, the tears Cyrus had managed to hold back finally feel freely down his cheeks.

What just happened?

-

His mind still in turmoil, Cyrus ended up calling the girls in a panic. He could barely get the words out through his tears, but bless his best friends for knowing exactly what to do. Andi immediately invited him over to her apartment.

When he arrived, a blanket and pillow fort had been set up in the living room along with packets of Little Annie Snacks, a giant teapot filled with hot cocoa, and a bowl of colorful marshmallows.

Without letting him say a word, the girls ushered him into the fort, wrapping him in a fuzzy fleece blanket and placing a mug of hot cocoa in his hands.

For several minutes, Cyrus absentmindedly sipped his hot cocoa while Andi and Buffy just quietly huddled on either side of him, munching on the snacks.

Finally, he spoke. “Me and Jonah had a fight.” His voice cracked as tears threatened to spill again. “W-We've never fought before. And I don't know what to do.”

Andi nudged him on the side. “What was the fight about? I mean, you don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” she added, quickly. “But… we might able to help if we know what’s going on.”

Cyrus hesitated before going into a long rant about Jonah introducing him to P.D. and how the blonde Chris Hemsworth-wannabe clearly showed signs of liking Jonah and how Jonah didn’t seem to get why he was upset.

“... and he told me that if I can be friends with anyone I want, why can’t he? And then he just… left!” He groaned, leaning back against the pillow behind him, hitting his head against it. “He had some good points and I feel so guilty about it… but you guys, you didn’t see the way that knockoff Ken doll looks at him! He wants Jonah! And Jonah doesn’t seem to get it! And then he had the audacity to bring T.J. into it?! Like, what’s up with that?!”

Groaning again, he hit his head several times against the pillow. The girls were quiet, just letting him stew in his own way.

“Well...Is there actually something going with you and…you-know-who?” Buffy asked, gently.

Cyrus sniffled. “Voldemort?” he asked.

The two girls burst out laughing and for the first time all day, he finally smiled.

“You know who I’m talking about, Cy,” Buffy continued.

Cyrus sighed. “I guess I have been hanging out with T.J. too much.”

“Maybe not as much as you think,” Andi said, patting his arm. “It’s just… boyfriends can get possessive and jealous. I mean, even Walker worries sometimes that some other guy will catch my attention since we go to different schools. And I worry too. But, at the end of the day, he trusts me and I trust him. You and Jonah just need to talk it out and clear out any misunderstandings. I mean, like you said, you and T.J. are just friends so nothing is going on there, right?”

Cyrus couldn’t answer.

“Right, Cyrus?” Andi asked again.

The two girls were looking at him with narrowed eyes. The guilt in his chest multiplied.

“Oh… my… god,” Buffy breathed. “You like T.J. don’t you? As more than a friend…”

Feeling the tears prickling at his eyes again, Cyrus grabbed a stray pillow and shoved it over his face.

“I don’t knooooow,” he whined, his voice muffled. “So many things have happened. I started liking him because I thought I didn’t have a chance with Jonah.” He removed the pillow from his face, feeling the wetness of tears in his cheeks. “But, then, Jonah asked me out and it was like a dream come true and I hurt T.J. but he still wanted to be friends and I didn’t want to lose him. But… things have gotten so complicated. Dating Jonah wasn’t exactly how I pictured it would be. I mean, it’s not a bad relationship. It’s just… I don’t know…”

Silence hovered over them as Cyrus’ words settled. He realized that everything between him and Jonah had happened way too fast for him to truly think about it. Could that be why they were having problems? Sometimes, he wondered if Jonah really did like him.

“Remember when I liked Jonah?” Andi suddenly said.

Both Cyrus and Buffy turned their heads to look at her. Their pixie-haired friend had a faraway look on her face, fond smile playing on her lips.

“That was like, what, 7th grade?” Buffy said.

Cyrus remembered. They used to bond over their crush on the dimpled boy, annoying Buffy to no end, who couldn’t understand why they liked Jonah so much.

“Yeah…” Andi sat up and crossed her legs under her. “I was obsessed with him. I wanted him to like me so much that I tried to change myself to impress him. I was even jealous of you, Cy. You two were so close and you had a bond that I could never dream of getting in between.” She sighed. “But, you know what I realized? I think… I liked the idea of him more than I actually liked… him. When I finally thought about it, we didn’t really have much in common. Our personalities clash too much and he drove me insane ! Then… I met Walker and I realized… that was what I wanted. Someone who gets me and my quirks. Someone that I don’t have to try too hard to impress. And someone who just… brings out the best in me.”

Andi placed a comforting hand on Cyrus’ arm. “What do you want with Jonah, exactly, Cy?”

“I… don’t know.” Cyrus truly had no clue.

Everything that Andi said made sense. She and Walker fit like a puzzle and even though it took them a good while to really get together, they had always fit.

What exactly did he want with Jonah? For a long time, he wanted to date him. He wanted to be kissed by him. He wanted to be his boyfriend. That was all he ever dreamed about. And he got all that.

But, then, why wasn’t he happy? Why was he still doubtful? Why did the thought of Jonah still fill him with insecurities about his own self-worth?

“Maybe you guys should… take a break for a bit, while you figure it out?” Buffy suggested as gently as she could.

“Or… you and Jonah could have a real conversation about what you're both really upset about. Without the accusations.”

“That is also an option.”

“Either way, we're here for you, Cy Bug.”

“Thanks. I love you, guys.”

“We love you too,” said Andi. “You and Jonah have always been best friends and you tell each other everything. This shouldn’t be any different.”

But, the thing was, it was different. Everything was different between them now.

-

Jonah didn’t text him all weekend and Cyrus didn’t bother either. And that Monday, he walked to and from school alone.

Because of the game the previous week, Coach Mullen had given the basketball team an entire week to rest and recover before they took part in another week of rigorous training for the next game. And it suited Cyrus just fine. That way, he didn’t have to be forced to interact with Jonah, who was also going out of his way not to run into him at school.

That Wednesday, the third day of him walking home alone, he paused outside the playground. He could see the swings from where he was. They were empty. His feet walked down the path towards them.

Dropping his bag on the ground, he settled on the swing and began to move in a gentle rhythm.

He didn’t know how long he had been there but it must have been a while because he found the atmosphere getting chillier. He zipped his dark blue jacket further up to his neck.

For the past hour or so, he had been trying to make sense of the relationship tangle he somehow found himself in. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he, of all people, would have to deal with this kind of drama, let alone involving two of the hottest guys in town. One was his childhood dream come true and the other was like a prince in a basketball jersey.

His phone sounded off, interrupting his musings.

Lmaooooo (Face With Tears Of Joy )(Loudly Crying Face )(Face With Tears Of Joy )(Loudly Crying Face ) this kid at work just asked me if I could adopt him

Not gonna lie he's my favorite (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes )(Baby Angel )

Cyrus smiled at the text. T.J. must have just gotten out of work. He wasn't allowed to be on his phone when he was watching the kids, which meant that he was probably nearby.

Aksjdhf that's adorable and you should definitely adopt him. If you're free want to meet me at the park?

Maybe he just needed to hear another perspective. That would help him decide what to do. Right?

Be there in 5 (Winking Face )

-

Cyrus watched as a small dark dot from far away got closer and closer. Soon, it revealed T.J. clad in a thick burgundy hoodie and high top sneakers, jogging towards him down the sidewalks, his coiffed hair bouncing as he moved. The cocky smirk became visible as the jock slowed into a confident strut as he got closer to Cyrus.

“Hey, Mr. Manager,” he greeted. “What's up?”

He stood in front of Cyrus, green eyes sparkling with mischief. The smaller boy looked up at him in wonder.

Silently, he stood up and wrapped his arms around T.J.’s middle, suddenly realizing that he desperately wanted… no… needed a hug.

T.J. hugged him back with no hesitation. “Woah, is something wrong? I thought we were just hanging.”

Cyrus couldn’t stop the sniffle as he pulled back to look up at the taller boy. He looked so worried and concerned. It made Cyrus’ chest feel all warm as all his heavy worries left his body.

“Something happened,” he said, softly. “With me and Jonah.”

T.J.’s eyes widened but then softened in understanding. “Wanna talk about it?”

Cyrus gently broke away from him and started pacing as he ranted.

About P.D. About Jonah. About his relationship with Jonah. About how upset Jonah was that he was hanging out with T.J.

“... and I don't know what to do! Jonah has been my best friend my whole life and I don't want to lose him, but now he's hanging out alone with some pretty boy and ignoring me! And he’s supposed to be my boyfriend!”

He sighed. “But I don't really have a right to be mad at him about it when I've been doing the same thing with you. I mean, you’re fun to hang out with, don’t get me wrong. But he doesn't act like the boyfriend I thought he would be. Even before he met that baby Chris Hemsworth! He would just stop answering my texts and blow off our dates.”

The longer he rambled the more memories came up.

“We only hold hands when we’re walking home or to school. He barely kisses me, really, and we’ve been together for a month and half now! Oh, and he forgot my birthday ! And then he got me a science kit for 8 year olds to make up for it?! And then… and then you got me this amazing necklace and I only got upset because I just couldn't believe how perfect it was and I felt so lucky to have you-”

Cyrus was interrupted by a hot press against his lips, forceful enough to make him squeak and stumble back until he felt the cold metal of the swing set pole on his back making him gasp. His eyes involuntarily closed as warm, callused hands cupped his cold cheeks and tilted his head up, the kiss deepening, warming him up from his face to the tips of his toes.

And it felt so. Damn . Good. There were no words to describe the feeling other than it felt like home. His eyes slipped closed as the waves of pleasure happiness and warmth overwhelmed his brain with each movement made against his lips. Any capabilities of thought flew out the window.

Cyrus leaned into the warmth as much as he could, trying to get as close to it as possible.

Wait… he was on his tiptoes… his arms were wrapped around a slender neck... his fingers had somehow threaded themselves into strands of long and short hair that felt so soft to the touch...

FUCK.

Cyrus pulled back quickly in shock, hitting his head on the swing pole in the process.

“Ow!”

“Shit! Are you okay?” T.J. stepped closer to him, rubbing the back of Cyrus’ head and looking concerned.

“Y-You… you kissed me.” Face red, heart racing, and eyes wide, Cyrus shakily pointed at T.J., as though there could be any confusion.

“Well, I think you might've kissed me too,” he joked.

Cyrus didn't react in the slightest, still shook.

T.J.’s form sagged and he looked at him guiltily.

“I’m sorry,” he said, softly. “I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn’t help it. You're just so... you, you know? Everything about you is you!” His voice was filled with clear frustration. “The way you talk, the way you move, the way you think, the way you look! And this is what you do to me, Cyrus.”

Gently, he reached over and took Cyrus’ hand in his and placed it over his heart. Under his palm, Cyrus could feel the organ racing, matching his own.

T.J. continued, “I’m a selfish guy. And I want you all to myself. But, I know I can’t have you. So I won’t do that again. I promise.”

“T-T.J.…”
“It’s just that… I think about you all the time. Like, I wanna hear everything you have to say, and I always wonder what you’re doing, and… your hair smells so fucking good, it drives me crazy! Seriously, what is that?”

“Pantene,” Cyrus quietly blurted out.

T.J. chuckled, lightly, but then sighed. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Cy. But… sometimes I just wanna…”

His free hand reached out and slowly slid his hand down Cyrus’ arm, down to his hand, lingering there for a moment before he reluctantly dropped both.

“But I can’t. And it sucks. It really sucks... Especially when I have to hear how that guy is treating you. You deserve better than that.”

The warmth from earlier was gone, replaced by a chill that made him shiver, and not in the most pleasant way, either. Cyrus had no words, so he remained quiet, not wanting to miss a word the Captain had to say.
“Don't worry. I'm not expecting anything to change between us or anything. I just had to get that off my chest.” T.J. took a step back. “I should go… I'll see you at school tomorrow, alright? Sorry I couldn't help you out.”

With one last longing look, T.J. turned on his heel and quickly walked away. Cyrus could only watch as he moved further and further away from him until he disappeared around the corner.

Somehow, through his muddled mind and even more confused feelings, Cyrus managed to grab his things and make his way home.

The air had gotten even colder and he popped his jacket’s collar up to cover his neck for a little more warmth.

T.J. had given him this jacket.

Though the physical feeling had faded, just like T.J.'s hug, the memory alone was enough to fill him with that same warm feeling, as though T.J.'s lips were still on his. The blush on his face didn't fade as he walked the rest of the way home.

-

Cyrus spent the next day thinking. And thinking. And thinking. And thinking some more. He couldn't do anything else. He even got lost walking to school; he was so distracted by his thoughts that he was getting a terrible a headache. He was obsessed!

Because that kiss. Just… that kiss. He'd never felt anything like that before.

And Jonah. He cheated on Jonah.

But, that kiss… and... T.J. There was no way he could act normally around him anymore. It was official: T.J. had successfully managed to melt the ice block known as the friendzone with his constant warmth. Then, he smashed it to pieces with the best kiss of his life.

But, Jonah was his best friend. They had been through everything together and he couldn't stand not being able to see him like he was used to. At the same time he didn't want to tell him what happened at the park. He wanted to store it in the deepest recesses of his memory and let it fade away with time.

That strong passionate kiss from T.J.. He could play back the seconds before it happened in slow motion if he concentrated hard enough. When T.J. had suddenly started reaching towards him. The determined glint in his green eyes as they slipped closed and his mouth parted...

“CYRUS!”

Cyrus jerked and regained focus on reality. He blinked several times as the world came into focus once more.

Oh, right. He was at The Spoon with his best friends. Not back at the playground with the Captain of the basketball team. Just… the good ol’ Spoon.

“I called your name four times!” Buffy said, with a frown. “And you were literally drooling and then looking sad. Like a puppy watching their owners eat dinner.”

“Yeah, you've barely said anything since we got here,” added Andi.

“T.J. kissed me!” Cyrus blurted out, unable to hold back for a moment longer. “And I definitely kissed him back.”

Buffy and Andi gasped, bug-eyed.

“I knew it,” Buffy said, looking a little worried. “I knew it all along. Do I truly have… the gift?”

Buffy looked at her hands in wonder as if they would have proof of her physic abilities.

Meanwhile, Andi squeaked out, “You cheated on Jonah?!”

“It was an accident!” Cyrus whined in exasperation. “How was I supposed to know that it would be so amazing! What was I supposed to do? Besides I stopped it once I realized-”

“Realized that those weren't your boyfriend’s lips?” Andi interrupted.

“... actually it was when I realized I was on my tiptoes.”

“Awww!” she cooed. “I ship it!”

It only made him groan in frustration. Couldn’t his best friends see his dilemma?!

Across the table, Buffy reached out and took one of his shaking hands.

“Cyrus, listen closely. We all know how much you love Jonah. He's been by your side your whole life. But that doesn't mean you two are meant to be.” A soft smile crossed her face. “Sometimes, the right guy comes along and he's somehow scarier and yet more fun than anything you've done before. But in the end, if you don't try you'll always wonder what could have been. And trust me finding out can be so much better than you ever dreamed.”

Cyrus blinked. “Thanks, Buff. Wow, that was beautiful.” He tilted his head to the side, wondering. “You hooked up with Marty, didn't you?”

Buffy broke into a grin. “Yes! And it was amazing! I have no idea why I waited so long! He's so funny and he's so cute and a way better kisser than I expected for how small his lips are.”

Happy for her, Cyrus squeezed her hand back before letting it go and sighing.

“I don't want to break up with Jonah,” he said, softly. “He's my best friend. But… there’s something about being with T.J. that just feels so...right.” He sighed again. “Is there a way to fix all of this with no one getting hurt? That's all I want.”

Both girls sent him sympathetic looks, taking each of his hands again.

“Sorry, hun,” Buffy said. “But, part of growing up involves hurting people's feelings, sometimes. Especially if you care about them.”

Cyrus sighed again. “We really have to break up, don't we?”

The two girls nodded.

“It’s for the best,” said Andi. “You both deserve to be happy. And, Cy, you’re not happy, are you?”

He bit his lip. “I haven't really been happy about our relationship for some time now. Well, except for that little bit of time when Jonah actually acted like a good boyfriend.” He smiled fondly at the memories but it disappeared just as quickly. “But he hasn't talked to me in days and I only felt bad because I knew he was mad at me and I'm used to seeing him around me. And… T.J. makes me so happy. All the time.”

“Then, you know what to do,” Andi stated with a nod.

“No matter what you choose, we’ll always be here to support you,” added Buffy.

Finally, Cyrus allowed himself to smile. “Thanks, guys. What would I do without you?”

“You wouldn't survive,” Buffy said, cheekily.

Cyrus chuckled, feeling better for the first time since yesterday. He feeling much braver and more determined to make things right.

-

That Saturday, Cyrus made it his mission to hunt Jonah down. He went to his house but his mom told him he was out. He sent him a thousand text messages but none were returned. He even went to all of his favorite spots, but there was no sign of the dimpled boy.

He searched for hours and yet… no Jonah.

Cyrus was starting to get frustrated. He was trying so hard to do something he didn't want to in the first place, but why wasn’t he succeeding?!

Soon, he found himself around Main street. It was mostly made up of stores and business establishments so if there was a high chance of finding someone you’re looking for there.

Cyrus settled on a bench, looking around and hoping that Jonah would magically appear in front of him.

As if a genie heard his wish, the doors to the Red Rooster opened and out came a familiar figure.

He shot out of his seat. “Jonah!”

Hearing him, Jonah turned his head to look and froze, a deer caught in headlights.

Chapter Text

Cyrus ran up to Jonah, panting from the exertion.

“H-Hey Cy,” Jonah stammered, taking a few steps back. “Sorry, but I don't have time to talk right now. I'll see you later.”

Jonah tried to walk away but Cyrus jumped forward grabbed his hand, stopping him from going further.

“I haven't seen you in days.”

Jonah couldn’t look him in the eye. “Sorry... I knew you'd want to talk and honestly, I’d really rather not.”

“Isn't it a problem if you don't want to talk to your boyfriend?” Cyrus asked, softly.

“Not if I don't worry about it.”

“Jonah…”

“No, no just…” Jonah broke away from his hold and stepped back. “Let's just pretend we didn't see each other today, okay? I'll walk you to school tomorrow, I promise!” He tried to smile at Cyrus but it came out more like a grimace. “Everything can go back to normal!”

“Jonah-”

“NO! I don't want every-” Jonah stopped, suddenly. Closing his eyes, he started taking deep slow breaths. In…. and out.

Recognizing his breathing technique Cyrus took a step back and allowed Jonah some space to get his anxiety under control. He hadn’t seen him have an attack for a while now, and it worried Cyrus. All this stress couldn’t be good for him.

When Jonah’s breathing returned to normal, he opened his eyes and met Cyrus’ gaze before flashing him a sad smile.

“I guess I can't avoid this forever, can I?”

Cyrus sadly shook his head.

Jonah took a deep breath. “It's pretty cold out. Wanna get some hot chocolate?”

“Sure.”

Jonah reached out and grabbed his hand, leading the way to the nearest cafe.  

As they walked, Cyrus could feel it. The change. Things were definitely different now.

He held Jonah’s hand even tighter.

-

The cafe was crowded so they chose to have their hot chocolate to go. Jonah didn’t say a word aside from asking him if he wanted whipped cream. Cyrus didn’t talk either, simply answering that yes, he did.

With cups in hand, they walked out of the cafe and began to walk. To where, it didn’t seem to matter.

For a good minute or so, they walked in silence, occasionally sipping on their drinks.

“Sorry that I've been ignoring you for a while,” Jonah suddenly said. “I had a bad feeling you'd want to do something like this if I saw you.”

Cyrus turned his head to look at him. “Something like what?”

“Break up with me.”

Whoop, there it was.

Cyrus stopped walking. Beside him, Jonah walked a little ahead and faced him.

“I know I haven't been the best boyfriend. And I feel terrible about the way I rubbed P.D. in your face-”

“I kissed T.J.!” Cyrus blurted out, unable to listen to Jonah blame everything on himself. “Well, technically, T.J. kissed me but I should've stopped him.”

“Oh.”

Cyrus felt his lips wobble. “Please don't hate me.”

“No way, I could never hate you, Cy.” Jonah took a step closer. “I mean, I don't like it, but I have something to admit too.”

He hesitated, looking around before pointing to the side with his thumb. There was an empty bench there.

“We should sit.”

Cyrus nodded and sat. Jonah settled next to him. Both placed their cups of hot cocoa to the side. To be honest, Cyrus didn’t really feel like drinking it anymore. His stomach was feeling queasy.

“About Paul...  I mean, P.D.” Jonah swallowed. “Um, we didn't kiss but… he stayed over the other night and we kinda… shared the bed.”

Cyrus felt a surprisingly strong pang of hurt at the words. He had been in Jonah’s room. He had seen his bed. It wasn’t huge. He could easily picture the two curled up in bed… so close together… Closer than he and Jonah had ever gone.

“Oh,” was all he could say.

“Nothing happened!” Jonah said, quickly. “But… I think it’s still worth mentioning.”

They sat in silence again, letting all the information sink in.

“Do you like T.J.?” Jonah asked in a whisper.

The question was sudden and unexpected but there was no use denying it, at this point. “I...I guess I do.”

“Why?”

"Why do I like T.J.?"

"Yeah."

Cyrus bit his lip. "Well... I don't really know how it started. I mean, he's really good looking and an amazing athlete. Who wouldn't like that?" He chuckled, lightly. "And, he may look tough and mean on the outside, but he's really just this big puppy who likes Ariana Grande more than he'll admit."

Cyrus smiled as he recalled the time they jammed to her music in T.J.'s car. "Being with him makes me happy. Like all of my worries just fly out the window, even for just a moment. He makes me want to do better. He even made me take being team manager seriously." He chuckled again before taking a deep breath. "I guess... I like him because he brings out the best in me."

Beside him, Jonah nodded. "That makes sense."

Cyrus turned to him now. "What about you? Do you like P.D.?"

Jonah blushed and Cyrus knew the answer before he even said a word. "I think so... I'm not completely sure, to be honest. But, he's a ton of fun to be with. We like a lot of the same stuff. And he just gets me, you know?"

Cyrus nodded. "I get it."

Silence hovered over them again. Cyrus tapped his fingers against his knee. Jonah fiddled with the zipper of his jacket.

"Jonah.”

The other turned to him. “Yeah?”

“Do you actually like me?"

"Yeah, I do, Cy. Really.” He paused. “But... maybe not as much as I thought I did... or, like, not the way that I hoped I did.” He took a deep breath. “What about you?"

Cyrus chuckled. "Are you kidding me? I've liked you since we were in the 6th grade. You're all I ever dreamed of being with. And when you asked me to be your boyfriend, I was so happy. I thought I was dreaming." He took a deep breath. "But I should have known that dreams don't always carry over into reality very well."

Jonah sighed and grabbed Cyrus’ hand, looking at him with saddest eyes. “You're my best friend, Cy.”

He didn't say anything else and his message was clear. Cyrus had always just been his best friend.

“You're my best friend too, Jonah,” Cyrus said, his eyes welling up as he choked back a sob threatening to leave his throat.

There was a moment of silence. Cyrus took a big gulp of his cocoa, letting the warm drink soothe him.

Then, Jonah softly uttered, “I’m really sorry. I tried... I really did.”

“I know. I’m sorry, too.” Cyrus managed a smile that Jonah returned. It felt like a weight lifted off both of their shoulders.

“So...what now?” Jonah asked.

Cyrus shrugged. He had never broken up with someone before.

“I don't want to lose you,” he stated. “But… I think we need some space from each other for a while. We both did things that hurt each other, but once we heal, I think we'll be closer than ever.”

“Yeah? You think so?”

“I really do... Friends?”

Jonah squeezed his hand. “We’ll always be friends.” He stood up and pulled Cyrus up with him, wrapping his arms around him into a tight hug.

“You're the best, Cy Guy.”

“Right back at ya, Jo Lama Jama.”

Laughing softly, the two broke apart, both smiling and feeling lighter than they had in weeks.

Maybe things wouldn’t go back to the way they were before they started dating. And maybe things would be a little awkward for a while. But, Cyrus couldn’t find it in himself to have any regrets.

-

As soon as the girls heard about the breakup, they immediately came over to Cyrus’ place with tubs of ice cream and cheesy rom-com DVDs. As much as Cyrus tried to reassure them that he was fine (kind of a half-lie), they didn’t relent and insisted on spending the entire weekend with him.

Suffice to say, they kept him so thoroughly distracted that he barely remembered that he was supposed to be heartbroken.

That Monday, he walked to school alone but, strangely enough, he didn’t feel lonely at all. He passed Jonah a few times in the hallways and they politely said “hello” and waved at each other. One time, he even stopped to have a quick chat with Cyrus and Buffy. But, for the most part, Jonah gave him space and he did the same.

After school on Tuesday, Cyrus headed to the gym early, pumped and ready to get started on his managerial duties. He even brought bags of low-fat unsalted veggie chips for the team to munch on during their water break.

“Hey!” He slapped Rob’s hand away as the player reached for the chips. “Those are for the break!”

The other boy pouted. “Come on, Mr. Manager! Just one?”

“No,” he said, firmly.

Rob sighed. “Fiiiine.” Obediently, the player headed back onto the court.

Cyrus chuckled. Sometimes, he couldn’t believe how much the team’s demeanor towards him had changed.

In the beginning, some of them wouldn’t even pay him a second of attention. But the more time he spent with them, and the more T.J. made clear that he would make anyone who made fun of Cyrus suffer, the more they accepted him and treated him like one of their own.

It was a refreshing feeling to be part of a team, even if he wasn’t a player. And he had Jonah to thank for convincing him to apply for the position. If it wasn’t for him, he wouldn’t have met…

“Hey, Captain!”

T.J. jumped and turned around nervously. “Hey, what’s up?” he greeted, softly.

Cyrus took a few steps closer to him. “I haven’t heard from you in days. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Things are fine.” The jock tried to smile but it was obviously forced.

Cyrus furrowed his brows. “Are you sure?” He hesitated before asking, “Are we okay?”

“Of course,” T.J. answered too quickly. “Um, I gotta go talk to some of the team about strategy. Talk later?”

“Oh, sure. Yeah, go on.”

With one last small smile, T.J. jogged off towards some of the players, immediately falling into a conversation with them.

Cyrus felt his chest ache, suddenly feeling abandoned.

“Hey, Cy.”

He turned his head to see Jonah walking up to him,

“Hey,” he greeted, sounding downcast.

Jonah cocked his head to the side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Jonah looked to the other side of the gym where T.J. was still talking to a couple of their teammates.

“Did you talk to T.J.?”

Cyrus shrugged before walking back to his cart, parked by the bleachers. “About what?”

Jonah followed behind him. “You know… about us breaking up?” He smiled a little.

Cyrus sighed. “I don’t know. I think he’s mad. Or upset. He hasn’t talked to me in days. Not since…”

Not since they kissed.

For all his obliviousness, Jonah appeared to understand as he nodded. “You should talk to him after practice.”

“Are you… actually trying to help me?”

“Yeah?”

“But, I’m your ex-boyfriend.”

“And you’re my best friend, too.” Jonah smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “I want you to be happy, Cy.”

Warmth flooded Cyrus’ chest and not for the first time, he was grateful that Jonah was in his life. Things may not have worked out between them, but the other boy would always be special to him.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

They both looked towards T.J. The taller boy was apparently looking at them because he immediately turned his head away, looking upset.

As much as Cyrus wanted to go over to him right there and then, he restrained himself.

All in good time… He was so impatient.

-

Unfortunately, T.J. disappeared as soon as practice ended that day. In the past, he normally stayed behind to help Cyrus clean up. This time, Jonah ended up staying behind to help him.

Cyrus could have sworn that he saw T.J.’s heartbroken eyes linger on the two of them before he rushed to the locker room. He never came back.

Jonah ended up walking home with him and Cyrus had to admit, it was nice. Now that there was no pressure of a relationship, things felt comfortable between them again.

So much for giving each other space, but Cyrus had to admit...he really needed someone who understood this thing between him and T.J. The girls were great help but they never witnessed his entire relationship with T.J. unfold whereas Jonah did.

Plus, his dimpled best friend-slash-ex was surprisingly sympathetic to his plight. “Why don’t you try again after practice on Thursday?” he suggested.

“He’ll probably just run away again.”

Jonah hummed with a nod. “Wait, remember that one time I had a dentist appointment and didn’t walk home with you? He gave you a ride, right?”

“Yeaaah?”

“Well, why don’t you ask him for a ride?”

Cyrus furrowed his brow. “You think he’ll agree?”

Jonah chuckled. “Something tells me that he’ll do anything if it means making you happy.”

Smiling softly, Cyrus nodded. “I guess so,” he said, sounding unsure.

“What’s wrong?”

Cyrus tightly gripped the strap of his bag. “I’m kind of… scared?”

“About what?”

Cyrus swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. “What if… things don’t work out between him and me? At least, with you, we’ve been best friends since forever. But, T.J. and I have been friends for only a few months. What if… it’s not what I expect it to be? And I get disappointed again? And I hurt him?”

At that, Jonah stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. “You’re scared that what happened to us will happen to you and T.J., aren’t you?”

Cyrus nodded. “I’m terrified,” he admitted.

Jonah took a deep breath. “Cy, I can’t tell you that things will work out between you guys. ‘Cause I can’t see the future… It would be so cool if I could, though. Can you imagine all the cool things I would know will happen?”

Cyrus allowed himself a chuckle at Jonah’s simple source of joy.

“But, seriously, if you’re scared, then you should tell T.J. why,” Jonah continued as they started walking again. “All the more reason for you guys to talk it out. I mean… I think we could have fixed our issues earlier if we just talked but… anyway, just talk to him.”

Sighing, Cyrus nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He flashed Jonah a grin. “I can’t believe you’re giving me dating advice when we broke up just a few days ago.”

The other boy chuckled. “Yeah, it’s weird. But, I’m glad we can still talk like this. Like old times.”

Cyrus nodded in agreement.

Together, the two walked the rest of the way home. Like old times.

-

Thursday arrived, quickly and Cyrus knew what he had to do. It didn’t stop him from being a bundle of nerves, though. After his talk with Jonah and even longer talks with Buffy and Andi, he made up his mind. He was determined to talk to T.J. but he was also terrified at what might happen after.

During practice, he went through his duties like a robot. He kept trying to catch the Captain’s eye but T.J. was adamant about avoiding his gaze. He even came in exactly 5 minutes before practice began so there was no time for Cyrus to chat with him.

Once more, practice ended and the team headed began trickling out of the gym to the locker rooms, T.J. among them.

Gathering his nerve, Cyrus quickly jogged towards him before he could exit the gym doors.

“T.J., wait!”

Thankfully, the Captain stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. “‘Sup, Goodman?”

Cyrus swallowed. “Um… do you think… you can, uh, give me a ride home?”

T.J. raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you walking with Jonah?”

Caught off-guard by the question, Cyrus tried to think of a plausible excuse.

“Oh, I have a thing to do,” Jonah interjected with a friendly smile. “So I can’t walk home with him today.” He turned to Cyrus with a knowing look. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Cy.”

Cyrus flashed him a look of gratitude as he left. Now, he looked up at T.J., with a hopeful smile.

T.J. appeared conflicted and Cyrus prayed to whatever God was watching over them to please let this go well.

“Okay.” T.J. gave him a nod, perking Cyrus up. “I’ll just go get changed. Think you’ll be done by then?”

“Absolutely!” he replied, too quickly.

T.J. nodded, offering him a small smile before leaving.

Cyrus resisted the urge to cheer.

-

T.J. was silent as they walked to the car. He didn’t look angry or pissed off or anything. Just… resigned.

It didn’t help Cyrus’ nerves but he stood strong.

As they buckled themselves in, he finally blurted out, “Can we stop by the playground?”

T.J. furrowed his brows in confusion. “Why?” he asked.

Feeling another lump in his throat, Cyrus swallowed. “We need to talk.”

Those words made T.J.’s eyes widen. He turned his head away. “Cyrus, I don’t think-.”

“Please?”

T.J. appeared to falter. Sighing deeply, he nodded. “Okay.”

Without another word, he started the car and began to drive.

It was a silent ride. The stereo wasn’t even on. Meanwhile, Cyrus couldn’t help but watch him from the corner of his eye.

Jonah’s words echoed in his head. “Something tells me that he’ll do anything if it means making you happy.”

T.J. always tried to make him happy.

At the playground, Cyrus walked down the path, looking for a bench for them to sit on. T.J. quietly followed behind him.

When they finally found an empty one, they sat side-by-side, a small gap between them. It was like T.J. was afraid to touch him.

“So… there’s something I have to tell you,” Cyrus began.

T.J.’s fists curled up on his lap.

“I told Jonah about the kiss.”

T.J. glanced up at him for a moment, surprise clear on his face, before it cleared just as quickly as he returned his interest to the dirt below.

“Oh…” T.J. couldn’t seem to look at him for long, his gaze focused firmly on the ground.

Cyrus swallowed again. “And… we broke up.”

The jock’s head turned to him, fast, pure shock in his eyes. “What?”

Cyrus shrugged. “Jonah and I broke up.”

“Cyrus, I… Was it my fault? I wasn’t trying to split you two up. I’m sorry. It was just a dumb... I should… I’ll talk to Jonah and expla-.”

“No, T.J., no.” Cyrus shook his head. He tilted his body slightly so he could face him better. “It’s not you… Well, okay, it was partly you and partly other things.” He sighed. “There were a lot of contributing factors. And Jonah and I realized that… it just wasn’t working. The breakup was mutual.”

“Oh...” T.J. flashed him a look of concern. “Are you okay, though?”

Cyrus sighed. “I don’t know. I can’t say that I’m still not hurt about it. But, I think I’ll be okay.”

Finally, T.J. smiled a small smile. “That’s good… Well, you know, if you need me, I’m here for you.”

“I know. Thank you.”

Silence hovered over them. Cyrus nervously tapped his knees with his fingers. Instead of looking at the ground like before, T.J. leaned back and glanced around the park, looking much more relaxed.

Cyrus wasn’t sure what he was expecting. He kept waiting for something to happen. But, the only sounds were the soft rustling of the trees while the wind blew and the faraway squeals of children playing on the swings and slides. T.J. wasn’t even paying attention to him anymore.

“Teej?”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me out?”

Cyrus couldn’t believe he just asked that but it was already out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

T.J. himself looked caught off-guard. He bit his lip before asking in a soft voice, “Do you want me to?”

Cyrus swallowed, nervously. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Can you answer a question for me?”

Cyrus nodded.

“Do you even like me back?”

A blush bloomed in Cyrus’ cheeks. “Yeah,” he answered, honestly. “I-I do, but…”

He stopped, not sure if he could get the words out.

But, it turned out that he didn’t have to.

“But, you just got out of a relationship, right?” T.J. finished for him. His face was unreadable.

“I’m sorry,” Cyrus whispered. “I like you, T.J. I really, really like you. That’s why I can’t go out with you yet. I’m a mess and I don’t know what I want but I also don’t want to lose you because you’re so important to me now and when I get into a relationship with you, I want to be sure of my feelings and-.”

“Cyrus.” Scooting closer, T.J. placed a hand on his arm. “It’s okay, I get it.”

Cyrus hiccuped. “R-Really?”

Chuckling, the jock took both his hands in his and immediately started rubbing soothing circles with his thumbs. “As much as I’m dying to go out with you, I know you need some time.” He grinned. “Besides, this is gonna be awesome. It means I get to flirt with you and make you blush, and woo you, properly.”

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. “Did you really just use the word ‘woo’?”

“Yes, and I’m sticking with it. You know why?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Why?”

“Because when I finally get your sweet ‘yes’, it will only be because you want to be with me, and not just because you’re heartbroken. And that’s something worth woo-ing,” T.J. squeezed his hands. “I meant what I said earlier, by the way. I’m here if you need me.”

Warmth filled Cyrus’ chest. He had been so worried about hurting T.J. again. As much as he wanted to say ‘yes’ to him right then and there, he knew that he wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to jump into another relationship. He didn’t want it to crash and burn.

He wanted what he had with T.J. to last for as long as it possibly could. Because he really, really, really liked him.

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

T.J. smirked, cockily. “Oh, I know.”

Laughing freely now, Cyrus stared at their entwined hands and tried the circling motion T.J. was doing before. He didn’t feel so guilty doing this now. T.J. had nice hands. A little rough from all the sports he did, but they fit his own quite nicely. Cyrus peeked at T.J. and was proud to see the slight blush on his cheeks. He was starting to understand why T.J. made a game of it.

“I should get home,” Cyrus stated with a sigh.

“Boooo.”

He laughed and looked up at the athlete. “Are we good?”

T.J. grinned and softly squeezed his hands again. “More than good.”

The drive to Cyrus’ house was the complete opposite of their drive to the playground. Ariana Grande played on the stereo. Cyrus was talking a million miles a minute about his terrible gym class where he was forced to do gymnastics. T.J. offered his sympathies and aid at the right moments.

It felt so nice. Comfortable. Fun.

When T.J. pulled up to Cyrus’ house, the younger was reluctant to leave.

“See you at school?” Cyrus asked before getting out.

T.J. nodded, grinning.

Feeling a rare burst of bravery, Cyrus leaned close to T.J. and planted a soft kiss on the jock’s cheek.

“You’ll wait for me, right?” Cyrus whispered when he pulled away.

With the softest look, T.J. smiled. “Of course. As long as it takes.”

Returning the smile, Cyrus wrapped his arms around his neck, giving him a hug before pulling away, grabbing his things, and getting out of the car.

He jogged up to his front door and opened it. He briefly turned around to wave at T.J., who waved back.

Cyrus entered his house and shut the door. Pressing his back firmly against it, he took a deep and loud breath.

Quite the day he had. It felt like a giant weight off his shoulders.

Placing a hand to his chest and feeling the warm metal outline of the dinosaur there, he couldn’t help but smile.

He knew he was going to be okay. Of course, he would be.

Chapter Text

“Okay, ladies, we have narrowed down the options to...” Cyrus held up two clothes hanger. “The plaid shirt with the khakis? Orrrr… the button up with the jeans?”

Sitting cross-legged on Cyrus’ bed, Andi examined both options carefully, while Buffy threw out a quick “jeans” as she focused on her phone (probably texting Marty).

“Well, where are you guys going?” Andi asked, head tilted to the side.

“That’s the thing… I don’t know! It’s supposedly a surprise!” Cyrus exclaimed, feeling the panic set in.

He only had thirty minutes left to get ready and he still had to fix his hair!

“Well, if you were going to a more formal setting, I’d say the khakis,” said Andi. She pursed her lips. “But, then, again, you don’t want to be  too  formal…”

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. “So… khakis or jeans?!”

Andi giggled and raised her hand to point. “Go with the jeans. They’re dark enough to look formal yet still casual.”

He sighed in relief. “Thank you! Now, will you both kindly leave my room so I can get ready?”

Giggling, the two girls got up from his bed and gave him tight hugs.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” said Buffy.

“And text us after! We want to know  every  detail!” added Andi.

Cyrus promised and they left soon after.

Taking a deep breath, he said to himself, “Let’s do this.”

-

Finally dressed in a dark blue long-sleeved button up and dark skinny jeans, Cyrus descended the stairs with as much confidence as he could muster. He could hear his heart beating as loudly as his steps.

This was it. After months of flirting back and forth, unofficial dates, and endless heart eyes, he was finally going on a real, actual  date  with the  Captain  of the basketball team.  

He heard his mother laugh at something, probably something charming that T.J. said. When he was low enough to finally see them gathered around in the foyer, he got a sudden sense of dejavu of his date with Jonah.

But, when he reached the final step and T.J. turned his head, checking him out with his usual confident smile, the reality set in on who was really waiting for him.

Not his childhood crush. Not even the captain of the basketball team.

It was T.J. Kippen, the guy who was always there for him. T.J., the one who listened to him no matter what he was rambling on about. T.J. who had never wavered in his interest, not even when they could only be friends. T.J. who had somehow become the one he could count on for everything.

Cyrus’ nerves dissipated and all he could think about was how much he had relied on and trusted T.J. with almost everything. He never really got the chance to reciprocate or tell him how much everything he had done for Cyrus really meant to him.

“Hi,” T.J. greeted softly, looking almost mesmerized.

“Hi,” Cyrus replied back, equally dazed and dreamy.

“Awww, you two look so adorable!” his mom gushed, making them both blush in embarrassment.

And telling him exactly what he was thinking in front of his parents? Not gonna happen.

So Cyrus smiled until his cheeks hurt and took part in the required pleasantries needed for them to get out of the door as soon as possible.

-

“Can you pull over?”

“What? Why? Is something wrong?” T.J.’s voice was full of alarm.

“Nothing. Can you just pull over please?”

“Okay, but can you at least tell me if something’s wrong?”

“I promise,  nothing  is wrong.”

T.J. let out a breath of relief as he pulled over. He turned to him. “Thank God. You were freaki-”

Mustering all of his courage, Cyrus unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned over, and planted one right on T.J.’s mouth.

T.J. made a kind of “hmmfm” noise, freezing for a moment before he started hungrily kissing Cyrus back. There was a soft ‘click’ and then a warm hand made its way to the nape of Cyrus’ neck, gently stroking the baby hairs there making him tingle all over as the kiss deepened.

It was somehow even better than the first kiss from long ago that he’d been playing on a loop ever since. Cyrus felt his body temperature rise as he tried to pour all of his thoughts and appreciation and feelings into the kiss. He got lost in the overwhelming feeling of warmth and tingles. His body felt like it was burning from the inside out.

It was only when he realized that he desperately needed air, that he gently, but reluctantly, pushed T.J. away (he had ended up leaning over the console into Cyrus’ side at some point). He took a deep breath and proudly noted the glazed look in T.J.’s eyes as they hungrily stared at his lips. They both panted softly, trying to regain their breath.

With that kiss, Cyrus was confident that T.J. finally understood how he really felt about him. No more doubts. No more speculations. It was the real deal.

This was what their first kiss should have been like. About them, and how they felt about each other and nothing else. He had never felt so connected...

“That was so hot,” T.J. blurted out, grinning as his eyes flickered up to Cyrus’, the green darker than Cyrus had ever seen.

Cyrus blushed, brightly. Okaaay, so maybe they didn’t have the same sentimental thoughts, but Cyrus had never been associated with being “hot” before, so he felt a familiar fluttering of butterflies in his belly. It was just as good as when T.J. would say something incredibly flowery.

“Uh… can we do that again?” T.J. asked.

Cyrus had barely started to nod when T.J. leaned back in to capture his lips again. And he never felt so free.

Kissing T.J. was uncomplicated in a way he never experienced before. He didn’t and couldn’t think of anything but what he was feeling, and that T.J. was the one making him feel that way.

When they broke apart again, T.J. didn’t give Cyrus a moment to breath when he immediately asked, “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Cyrus blinked. “Huh?”

“It’s just… I’m tired of holding back all the time, and I already know what I want… Or, who I want, I guess I should say.”

Cyrus’ heart skipped a beat.

Was this really happening to him? Was this really his life? He could not believe he was lucky enough to find this amazing guy, who wanted him just as much as he liked him.

He nodded as fast as he could. “Yes! Of course, I’ll be your boyfriend!”

T.J. broke into a grin. “Fuck, yeah!” He turned red with embarrassment and quickly, added, “Um, I mean, are you sure? I don’t want to pressure you or anything.”

Cyrus chuckled, finding his sudden shyness endearing, and nodded. “Definitely. I mean… Jonah and I have been broken up for a while now.” He shrugged. “I think I’d be pretty crazy to turn you down.”

“Again, you mean.” T.J. winked.

“Hey!”

“I’m just kidding, relax!” T.J. leaned back in his seat, looking at Cyrus with a wide smile on his face, that matched Cyrus’ own broad grin. “I’m so freaking happy. You’re finally my boyfriend. Oh man, I don’t know what to do now. I didn’t really think this far even though I’ve been imagining this for months.”

His hands were squeezing into fists on his lap, fingers twitching slightly.

Cyrus felt equally jittery from the excitement, so he did what he did best and came up with a solution. “Let’s just take a couple of deep breaths and… try to relax.”

T.J.’s smile was up to his ears now. “Yeah, okay. Let’s do that.”

Cyrus nodded and began taking deep breaths, in and out. It was kind of hard to do, especially when he couldn’t seem to stop smiling… and when T.J. was leaning in again.

Just like that, he lost his breath all over again.

-

They ended up making out in the car for way longer than Cyrus originally intended when he asked T.J. to pull over. But T.J. had reassured him, in between kisses, that there were no reservations to miss, so he let himself enjoy it a while more.

So, by the time they broke apart and composed themselves enough for T.J. to start driving to their destination, he was practically floating on cloud nine.

They held hands over the console, singing a mixture of Ariana Grande and Macklemore (turns out when he was in the 3rd grade T.J. also thought that he was gay. Except he couldn’t draw, he just thought his BFF was incredibly pretty). T.J. also enthusiastically serenaded him with a gender-swapped version of Bazzi's  Mine  making Cyrus’ blush grow deeper and deeper with each word.

When T.J. pulled into a parking lot, Cyrus realized where they were and was immediately brimming with excitement. There were only a few date-worthy spots in town but he was thrilled (and impressed) with T.J.’s choice: the miniature golf course.

T.J. parked and before Cyrus could move, he quickly said, “Wait, don’t get out yet.”

Cyrus furrowed his brows at him in confusion as the jock got out of the car and rushed over to the passenger side.

He swooned when he realized what was happening. He felt like he was in a fairytale when this handsome guy opened his door with a charming smile and held out a gentlemanly hand out for him to take. Just like Prince Charming. A Prince Charming who then, cockily bit his lip and smirked, before winking in his usual way, and completely ruined the princely effect.

No, this was definitely no prince, just T.J. But Cyrus’ still heart melted just the same.

Cyrus took the offered hand and T.J. squeezed it as they started heading for the front booth to get their tickets. Halfway there, he felt himself shiver from the cold - he had forgone his coat in the name of fashion. Noticing quickly, T.J. ditched his hand, and threw an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in close and kissing the top of his head.

“Hey, can I have one adult and one kid sized putter?” T.J. asked the employee behind the window.

Cyrus rolled his eyes and corrected him, “Hey! I’m normal sized! It’s not my fault you’re a giant!” He turned to the very bored looking employee. He was clearly a teenager their age and judging from his slouch, he hated his job. “I’ll have an adult club too.”

“That’ll be 19.25,” the guy said, grabbing the two brightly colored clubs.

T.J. slapped down a twenty before Cyrus could even think about it. “Can we get a red and a blue ball please?”

“Sure, whatever,” the guy said, slapping two balls in front of them with no care. “Have a Puttastic time,” he said in his equally bored tone.

As T.J. and Cyrus walked away, they burst into laughter.

-

They eagerly walked to the first hole. T.J. insisted on holding everything except Cyrus’ ball so they could hold hands, when Cyrus was suddenly struck with a thought.

T.J. was really competitive, and he didn’t know, or probably expect, how good Cyrus was at putt-putt. It had been the one sport he excelled at so he had put many hours of his childhood on the mini golf course.

What should he do? Should he act like he was bad to make T.J. feel better? What if he acted like he was so bad that T.J. had to wrap his arms around him to teach him again, just like with basketball? Or should he prove to T.J. that he wasn’t bad at all sports? Like, you know, he could hang, he knew some sport stuff too.

“Cy, I gotta say something real quick,” T.J. said as soon as they reached the first goal. He positioned his ball in the starting area. “You may be my boyfriend now…”

Cyrus’ heart thumped loudly and he flushed at hearing T.J. calling him his boyfriend so casually.

“...but I gotta warn you, I WILL NOT HESITATE!”

And with that declaration, T.J. swung hard and his little red ball flew off the course and out of sight. Cyrus took one look at T.J.’s crestfallen face and immediately burst out laughing.

The jock looked at him with a severe pout that only made Cyrus laugh harder. He felt a little guilty, but his giggles continued as he replayed the moment over and over.

“All right, show me what you’ve got then, Giggles.” T.J. waved Cyrus’ club in front of him.

“Okay.”

Cyrus took it and carefully positioned his own ball. He mentally calculated the hole’s approximate distance, combined with the current wind speed, before he taking a swing.

The ball rolled down the course before it came to a stop, only inches from the hole.

He turned with a grin to see T.J.’s mouth had dropped open.

“Pssh, lucky shot.”

Cyrus smirked.

-

After the 7th hole, T.J. seemed to realize that his first lucky shot was more of a lucky skill.

“Okay, you’ve gotta show me how you’re doing that. You’ve made two holes in one already and we’ve only been here for like ten minutes.”

Cyrus nonchalantly shrugged. “It’s really not that hard.”

“So you say! My ball keeps going off course.”

Now, he felt kind of bad. T.J. looked a little put off and disappointed. Maybe he should’ve held back a little.

“You’re swinging too hard,” he offered. “Try being more gentle.”

“I just got the best idea!” T.J. exclaimed, grinning. “Remember when I was showing you how to make a shot?”

Cyrus blushed. “How could I forget?”

T.J. smirked and bit his lip, the way he usually did when he was feeling flirtatious (which was almost always). “Well, why don’t you come teach me how to swing?”

Cyrus laughed at the image. “You mean the same way you taught me?”

“Yeah! Come on, I’m giving you to the opportunity to put the moves on the Captain like you always hoped, Mr. Manager.”

T.J. got into position with his ball on the ground, waiting to fly. He looked back at Cyrus over his shoulder and wiggled his butt as an invitation. They both giggled as he walked up and tried to reach T.J.’s hands as he wrapped himself over the taller teen. T.J. ended up having to crouch some in order for it to work, and he was leaning at an awkward angle. But, together, they managed to get Cyrus’ hands over T.J.’s and his head on his shoulder so he could whisper in his ear, just as T.J. was able to all those months ago.

“Okay, so you just have to keep your eye on the hole. Imagine the flow of the ball as it reaches it. Then take a few fake swings, and imagine how far the ball will go with each one. Once you’re sure…” Cyrus helped T.J. swing his club, much more gently than he had been doing alone, and the ball went straight into the hole.

Cyrus let go and jumped in glee. “You did it!”

T.J. reacted a little more slowly, blushing slightly, but chuckled. “Yeah that was awesome! Guess I know how to beat you now.”

He grabbed Cyrus’ hand again (Boyfriend T.J. was increasingly touchy, maybe that was what he meant by ‘holding back’ earlier), and started tugging them to the next hole.

Cyrus couldn’t keep his eyes off of T.J. Noticing his look, T.J. blushed even more. He didn’t do it often, but Cyrus just couldn’t seem to look away everytime he caught a glimpse of his pink cheeks.

There was just something about seeing the normally cocky jock looking so cute as he blushed that just did it for him. And this cute blushing jock was now his boyfriend.

There was no doubt that this was definitely the best afternoon of his life.

-

T.J. insisted on doing the rest of his shots in the same weirdly crouched position that he was in when Cyrus helped make him the hole-in-one. Despite the fact that, he was somehow doing worse than when he was shooting the ball all over the place.

They had just gotten to the sixteenth hole when T.J. suddenly got competitive again. (“You’re only 5 points ahead!”)

Cyrus didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was waaay off. In the end, T.J. agreed that Cyrus won, but also vowed to never take him mini golfing again.

-

T.J. pulled up across the street from the Goodman house. It was the same spot he had given Cyrus the necklace. He put the car in park and leaned back with a heavy sigh.

“I wish I could go in with you. Or take you somewhere else. Or… anything, really. I just don’t want you to go, this was a lot of fun.” T.J. gave his hand a squeeze.

Cyrus blushed. He knew exactly what the other boy was feeling. Truth be told, he never imagined he would have this kind of connection with someone.

He had his first kiss with his first and  only  girlfriend years ago that made him realize he was not in love with her…or girls, in general. Then, he had that unrequited crush and pined on his best guy friend for many, many years, dated him, then realized they were better off as friends. And, today, he was on the most amazing first date with an amazing new boyfriend.

Look how far he’d come.

“You can FaceTime me when you get home,” Cyrus offered, knowing he’d never break his curfew.

“I was definitely going to FaceTime you when I got home.”

T.J. tugged on his hand, until Cyrus got the hint. He leaned in to give T.J. a long slow kiss goodbye that turned into another shorter kiss... and another… and another… until they were just giggling and giving each other pecks.

“I reaaally like doing that,” T.J. murmured against his lips. “I could get used to this.”

Cyrus hummed, happily. “Me too.”

“You have no idea how happy you made me. How happy you always make me,” T.J. brushed his nose with his. “And I’ll always try to make you just as happy, I promise.”

“I know… you always have. And I will too, I promise.”

They stayed like that for a moment, savoring the feeling of each other. Cyrus never wanted to let go. But time was ticking and more and more stars were appearing.

“Okay, I seriously have to go now.”

“Uh, huh,” T.J. nodded, trying to lean in again, but Cyrus held him away, smiling at him.

“FaceTime me as soon as you get home, so I know you made it safe.”

Cyrus started to open the door.

“Wait!”

Cyrus looked back.

“We gotta change our contact names first.”

Cyrus closed the door. T.J. was right. That was high priority.

“Give me your phone,” T.J. demanded it exactly in the same way he had done during that first car ride.

Was that really only a couple of months ago? How nostalgic.

They exchanged phones, and T.J. automatically started tapping away while Cyrus hesitated. He hadn’t had the chance to put his contact name the first time, but smiled when he saw his contact was called “Mr. Manager (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes )” despite all his other contacts having at least three, if not all, emojis. He hesitantly replaced Manager with Boyfriend so that it now read “Mr. Boyfriend (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes )”. He could always change it later if he wanted.

“Finished?” T.J. asked.

“Yeah, here.”

They swapped phones. T.J. immediately looked at his.

“Aww, babe.”

Cyrus felt himself blush. T.J. Kippen had called him babe!

“I love it!” T.J. grinned and gave him a quick peck. “You can’t look at yours until you get inside though.”

“What? That’s not fair!”

“Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

Cyrus pouted but T.J. just chuckled.

“Fine.” Cyrus pout turned into a small frown as he realized. This was officially it. The end of the date. And he really didn’t want to leave.

“You want to do something tomorrow?” T.J. suddenly asked.

“Yes, please!” Cyrus immediately agreed.

“Great! Breakfast? I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“Sounds amazing.”

Grinning, T.J. probably couldn’t resist. He leaned in again and planted one last kiss on Cyrus’ lips.

He had to force himself to pull away and get out of the car. He waved then went inside before rushing to the window to watch T.J. drive away.

On cloud eleven, Cyrus floated through his bedtime routine, lost in the memories of his date. Just as he got out of the shower, fresh and feeling much cleaner, he heard the familiar ring of someone trying to FaceTime him.

Captain Sexy (Tongue )(Eyes )(Rainbow )(Heart With Arrow )(Flexed Biceps )(Basketball And Hoop ≊ Basketball)(Kiss Mark ) wants to FaceTime...

Cyrus couldn’t decide if T.J. was the sappiest boyfriend in the world… or the dorkiest.

In the end, it didn’t matter. The Captain was his now. And he had no plans of letting this one go.