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Summer was almost over and school was starting in just a week. What better way to spend it than with friends, junk food, and a refreshing dip in a pool?
That was exactly what Good Hair Crew decided to end the summer with: a pool party. Well, it was Buffy’s idea. Her new house had a swimming pool in the backyard and they haven’t had the opportunity to really use it yet. It took them a week’s worth of planning and finalizing the guest list.
As soon as they had all finished slapping on sunscreen to Cyrus’ insistence, Walker, Jonah, and Marty proceeded to shed their shirts and jump into the pool with loud shouts of glee. Water splashed everywhere, making Andi, Buffy, and Cyrus laugh when the water hit them.
“Who else are we waiting on?” Buffy asked as she uncovered the plates of mango and watermelon they had brought out.
“Just Amber and T.J.,” Andi answered as she took quick photos of the boys on the pool with her phone.
“Ugh.”
“Be nice. Cyrus invited them.”
“Of course, he did.”
“Buffy, come on, we’ve talked about this,” Cyrus said, pouting at his friend. “Amber and T.J. are my friends too.”
His athletic friend sighed. “Okay, okay. I’ll be nice. Only because I know you’ve been dying to hang out with T.J. all summer”
Immediately, Cyrus blushed. “T-That’s not-.”
“Hi! Sorry we’re late! Buffy’s dad let us in.”
They turned their heads towards the back door to see Amber coming out, followed by T.J.
“Hey, guys!” Andi greeted, waving at them.
Buffy offered a smile. “Hey.”
“The Spoon was full so I had to wait a bit until they finished my order,” the blonde girl continued as she approached, a tote bag slung over her arm and a box in her hands.
“And I ran into her on the way here,” T.J. said, placing a bag of styrofoam container boxes on the table next to the other box. “She had all this stuff so I thought I’d help."
Excitedly, Amber took out some of the containers and opened them. “Baby taters, like you requested, Cyrus!” She turned to Andi and smiled. “And I brought those cookies you liked from Sweet Delights.” She opened the box to reveal heaps of chocolate chip and M&M cookies.
Andi gasped, her eyes practically sparkling. “Oh my god, thank you, Amber!”
The blonde beamed before clapping her hands. “So? Should we get in the water? It’s really hot now!”
Happy and excited, Andi nodded and waited until Amber shed her summer dress, revealing her swimsuit underneath. Together, the two girls held hands as they jumped into the water with a scream.
Rolling her eyes yet smiling fondly, Buffy followed suit, cannonballing into the pool.
Soon, the whole backyard was filled with the sounds of splashing, cheers, and laughter.
T.J. turned to Cyrus with a grin. “Ready to go in, Underdog?”
Hiding his nerves, Cyrus nodded. “Totally. Yeah. Completely. So ready,” he rambled. “Um… you go on in, first, though. Give me a sec.”
T.J. raised an eyebrow. “Well, okay then.” He turned towards the pool.
Cyrus felt his eyes practically bulge out of their sockets as he watched T.J. lift his shirt over his head. He tried not to but his eyes couldn’t help but stare because arms… T.J. had really nice arms.
Cyrus never thought of himself as a bicep kind of guy, yet here he was, practically drooling over his friend’s arms.
T.J. turned to him briefly. Cocking his head to the side, the jock asked, “You sure you don’t want to get in yet? You’re looking a little red."
He stepped closer to Cyrus and placed a hand on his forehead. It made the smaller boy flush even more as his heart sped up.
“I think the heat’s getting to you, Underdog.”
“I-I’m fine,” he stammered, gently removing T.J.’s hand. “But, go on ahead to the water. I’ll follow.”
“Alright.” With one last grin, T.J. jogged towards the pool and yelled, “Heads up!” before jumping in.
The others already in the water started laughing and splashing at him as he emerged from below.
“Come on, Cy-Guy! Your turn!” Jonah called out with a wave.
Cyrus swallowed before nodding. He bent down to open the bag at his feet and took out the two arm floaties he had dug out from his garage the day before. He hadn’t worn them in ages but he knew he needed them for today.
Because, unfortunately, Cyrus could not swim without potentially drowning himself in the process.
He took off his shirt and put on the floaties, making sure they were snug and secure before making his way to the pool.
The others paused in whatever they were doing to stare at him sitting at the edge, testing out the depth.
“Um, why are you wearing floaties?” Walker asked, curiously.
“Aren’t those for kids?” Marty added.
Cyrus flinched, feeling himself turn red in embarrassment.
“I think it’s cute,” T.J. said, swimming close to Cyrus and pausing by his legs. He grinned up at him. “Come on in! The water’s great!”
Cyrus blushed. “I will. Just give me a minute.”
“Cyrus, it’s only 5 feet deep,” Buffy called out from where she was lying on a giant floating donut.
“Five feet five deep, to be exact,” Cyrus corrected, nervously. “I asked your dad to make sure. It’s a good inch and a half taller than me!”
Meanwhile, T.J. was looking up at him, curiously. “Can you swim?”
“Um… maybe in a shallow pool?” Cyrus sighed. “It’s on my list of normal things I can’t do.”
“Want me to teach you?”
Cyrus blinked. “What?”
T.J. laughed as he grabbed on to Cyrus’ hands. “Come on. I’ll help you with the basics.”
“I… I don’t know…”
“You can keep the floaties on until you’re comfortable.”
That reassured him a bit. “Okay.”
Knowing the others were watching, Cyrus kept his head down as he allowed T.J. to pull him into the water. He panicked a bit when his chin went underwater, but T.J. grabbed him around the waist.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you drown,” the jock said.
Cyrus nodded. He trusted him.
“Okay, let’s start with floating.”
For the next twenty minutes, T.J. helped Cyrus learn how to float above the water and taught him a few simple kicks. A few times, he had panicked and scrambled and nearly hit his friend on the face in the midst of flailing his arms. The others got a kick out of the whole thing. Marty, Jonah, and Walker would hold his legs and feet while Amber, Buffy, and Andi cheered him on in the sidelines.
Finally, he felt comfortable enough to remove his floaties and let T.J. support his back.
“This is kind of fun,” he stated, closing his eyes in relaxation as he floated above the water.
T.J. chuckled. “Good because you’re floating all by yourself now.”
Cyrus’ eyes flew open and he gasped. T.J. was no longer beside him. Instead, he was by Marty, Jonah, and Walker, giving them high-fives.
“Yay, Cyrus!” Andi called out.
“We knew you could do it!” Buffy added.
“Great job!” Amber cheered.
He really was floating on the water! All by himself!
“Oh my god! This is so cool! I can swim!”
Happily, he kicked his legs and moved his arms the way T.J. had shown him, propelling himself backwards. Before hitting the edge of the pool, he sat up. The tips of his toes touched the pool floor but he was no longer panicking about his head going underwater.
"I can swim!!!" he cheered, throwing his hands in the air in victory.
For the next hour or so, Cyrus was finally able to enjoy the pool. His friends all taught him various ways to swim. He even fearlessly got on a giant unicorn and allowed T.J. to push it around the pool. They also played chicken, with Cyrus on T.J.’s shoulders against Andi on Amber’s. Unfortunately, Cyrus and T.J. lost but he still had a ton of fun.
Soon, all their fun in the pool had turned to hunger. They had munched on the fruit, baby taters, and cookies at random moments but eventually, Buffy realized that they needed actual food. So, while she, Andi, and Amber headed inside to call for pizza, Marty, Jonah, and Walker busied themselves with filling up balloons with water for their planned balloon fight later.
Meanwhile, Cyrus got back on the giant unicorn floatie and leaned his back against its head. T.J. laid parallel to him on the opposite side, his head against the unicorn’s tail.
“Thanks, T.J..”
The jock raised his head to look at him. “For what?”
Cyrus smiled at him. “Teaching me how to swim. It was fun. And I can cross swimming off my list, now.”
T.J. grinned. “Happy to help. Thanks for inviting me today, too.”
“Why shouldn’t I? I like hanging out with you, T.J.”
Slowly, T.J. sat up. Cyrus looked up at him, curiously.
The jock appeared to hesitate before saying, “Maybe next time, it can be… just the two of us? Hanging out, I mean. Um… maybe… like… a date?”
Cyrus felt himself blush. “A… date?”
T.J. flinched. “Too soon?”
“Um… well…”
“Hey, lovebirds! Can you two help us out with these?” Marty called out, pointing to an overflowing bucket filled with balloons.
“G-Got it!” Cheeks red and looking embarrassed, T.J. jumped into the water.
“Wait! T.J.!”
The jock paused and turned around.
Cyrus smiled. “There’s going to be a pop-up farmer’s market this weekend. Maybe we can go together? I heard there’s going to be apple cider donuts.”
For a moment, T.J. simply stared back, mouth open. Then, he smiled. “Sounds like a fun date. I’m there.”
Cyrus beamed, happily.
“Guuuuuys!”
Laughing, Cyrus swung his legs to the unicorn’s side. “We’re coming! Hold up!”
He jumped into the water, splashing T.J., who laughed.
Together, the two boys swam to the edge of the pool, their hands locked.
And if Marty, Jonah, or Walker noticed, they chose not to comment on it.