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Cyrus’ watch went off at exactly five-thirty in the afternoon. He jumped at the noise and stuffed his notebook into his backpack, vacating the library as soon as possible. He ran through the halls, not a care for his safety. Basketball practise was over, it was finally time. He had been planning this for weeks and as nervous as he had been, he was just purely excited now that it was here. He caught a glimpse of a basketball hoodie out the window of the hallway and barely rounded the corner. If TJ hadn’t been much larger than himself, he would have surely knocked him over. The boy caught him with a spin and pulled him back around the side of the building.
TJ looked down at his boyfriend, a wild grin on his face. “Hi,” it was almost a whisper. Cyrus jumped a little at his voice, it had been no more than three hours but he had missed it. “I can tell you’re excited,” he teased.
“Me?” Cyrus asked in pretend shock. “No way, this is super casual. Super caj.”
As if it were anyway possible, TJ grinned wider. He leaned down, head only an inch away from Cyrus’ own and whispered. “I am too, Underdog.” Cyrus’ knees went weak. TJ pulled away and offered his hand. Cyrus grabbed it and squeezed. “Shall we?” They rounded the corner and let go. Cyrus occupied his now empty hand by stuffing it into the pouch of his hoodie. They stayed as close as possible as they walked down the street, Cyrus bumping himself into TJ maybe a bit too obnoxiously. TJ didn’t mind of course, he gave a smirk and knocked him the other way.
The walk to Cyrus’ house was a quick ten minutes, but by the time they got closer, he was begging for the time to stretch on. He got more and more bouncy and TJ picked up on the nerves.
“Cyrus, hey.” Hearing his name coming from the older boy’s mouth always grounded him slightly. “I can’t promise your parents are going to love me, but I can promise it’ll be okay.” Cyrus exhaled sharply and nodded. He was just bringing home a friend from school. Just a friend. He took a deep breath and stepped onto the porch.
“Cyrus?” A voice called from the kitchen as he opened the front door. He pulled off his shoes and motioned for TJ to do the same. “Come back and say hi and then I’ll leave you boys alone.” Cyrus gave his boyfriend a look of worry, but walked forward regardless.
“You must be TJ!” Cyrus’ mother exclaimed as they entered the kitchen, completely ignoring her son. “It’s great to see Cyrus having more male friends!” He wanted to disappear. Right then and there. TJ laughed, whether out of irony or to entertain, Cyrus couldn’t tell.
“It’s great to meet you too, Mrs. Goodman.” TJ extended a hand and she took it with a smile.
“Please, call me Leslie.” TJ gave a nod of acknowledgement and let go over her hand. She turned to Cyrus. “Do you boys have any plans?”
“Um, no. Not really,” Cyrus admitted.
“Well, we’ve agreed to give you reign of the TV tonight if you want to watch a movie? And I’ve set up the air mattress in your bedroom, extra pillows and all.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Cyrus replied. Of course she had set up a temporary bed, what else did he expect? He turned to leave the room and motioned for TJ to follow.
“Cyrus,” his mother called. He turned around. “Dinner’s soon, alright? Don’t start a game or anything.”
“We won’t,” he replied hastily, pulling TJ out of the room. He leaned against the opposite wall and exhaled as TJ chuckled.
“You way over-hyped that. She’s very nice.” Cyrus opted to ignore the comment, he hadn’t enjoyed those few minutes at all.
“Want a tour of the house?”
“Sure,” TJ said. They had exited the kitchen through the side, and were now standing in the living room. Cyrus motioned around and then dramatically pointed to the far wall.
“There’s where we’ll be watching a movie.”
“Where you’ll have full reign!” TJ joked. Cyrus glared at him.
“It’s actually a rare occasion, I’ll have you know.” TJ smiled and Cyrus led him back into the entrance way and up the stairs. “The rest of the house is just a normal house.” They reached the top of the stairs and he pointed to the door closest to the landing. “That’s the bathroom.”
“I’ll be sure to visit,” TJ commented. They walked to the end of the hall and Cyrus dramatically opened the door.
“Welcome to the only interesting room in the house.” TJ walked in behind Cyrus and stopped in the doorway, studying everything in sight. Cyrus’ eyes immediately went to the air mattress on the floor, which now occupied a good amount of his floor space.
“It’s very you,” TJ commented. He walked past Cyrus and threw himself down on the bed, propping himself up on his elbows. He grinned up at his boyfriend and shuffled his body over to the edge of the twin bed, patting the now-empty space to his right. Cyrus looked at the cracked door and then back to the boy on his bed.
“My mom is right downstairs,” he whispered. TJ rolled his eyes, leaned forward across the bed, and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. Cyrus wanted to protest but it was near impossible like this. He let his boyfriend drag him back down onto the bed. He fell down and leaned back into TJ’s arms. He let himself sit there for only a few moments before wiggling out of his grasp and shuffling to the side of the bed. TJ pouted at him as he looked back. “You’re evil,” Cyrus said, smiling.
“So what are we going to do before dinner? Pretend to be straight?” TJ joked.
“Ah, my least favourite game, yet the one I always seem to end up playing.” They smiled at each other for a dumb amount of time. TJ was the first one to break the eye contact. He rolled off the bed and onto the air mattress below. Cyrus crept forward and peered over the bed. By the time he looked, TJ was getting up off the ground. He walked to Cyrus’ desk and started pulling open drawers. “Looking for anything specific?” Cyrus asked.
“Nope.” He pulled open the bottom drawer and rifled around. “Maybe some blackmail? Embarrassing diary? Baby photos?”
“I’m boring. Nothing in there but school supplies and homework,” he replied.
“I think you’re lying to me,” TJ said. He pulled open the next drawer on the desk and Cyrus sighed, sliding off his bed. He walked around the mattress on the floor and leaned over to shut the drawer TJ had open. “Hey!” TJ protested.
“Would you want me snooping around in your bedroom?” Cyrus asked.
“Yes,” TJ responded, grinning. “So what about me going through that drawer motivated you to get up?” He asked curiously, leaning against the desk.
“Would you believe me if I said bad grades?” Cyrus offered.
“Definitely not.” He was still grinning, as always. “That’s fine, I can just stare at you for half an hour.” Cyrus blushed, hard, and looked down at the ground. TJ’s hand found his chin and lifted his head back up. “Give me something to do, or I’ll keep staring,” he whispered. Cyrus’ heart beat a mile a minute with no signs of slowing down. TJ’s hand was still under his chin and he was staring into his eyes.
“Cyrus! TJ!” A voice from downstairs broke up the moment. Cyrus jumped backwards and tripped over the mattress, landing on his bed. He looked up and frowned at TJ, who was laughing.
“That was definitely not half and hour,” Cyrus complained. “I’m really not even that hungry.”
TJ grabbed his arm and pulled him off the bed. “I’m starving, so you can watch me eat.” Cyrus groaned and let himself be dragged down the hallway. TJ jumped the last three steps on the stairway, causing a bang. Cyrus watched in amusement from above.
“Everything alright?” His mom called from the kitchen. Cyrus clambered down the stairs and pushed past TJ into the room. “What did you two get up to?”
Cyrus looked to TJ and panicked. Luckily, his boyfriend had his back. “He was just showing me around his room, some of his old stuff. You have a lovely house, Mrs-uh-Leslie.”
Cyrus stepped in to offer help, but TJ beat him too it. “Can we help set the table?” Leslie was beaming at TJ now and showed him to the cabinet with the plates, calling on Cyrus to grab the silverware.
The boys set the table while Cyrus’ mom finished the meal. She brought everything to the table along with glasses of water. “Would you like anything else, TJ?” She offered as she set a bowl of peas between the two of them.
“No, thank you. This is perfect,” he replied as he set his napkin on his lap. Cyrus was staring, he couldn’t help it. If TJ were a girl, his mom would be hounding him after tonight.
His mom gave him a knowing glance. “Cyrus, would you like to say the berakhah?” Cyrus stood up and TJ followed almost instantly. He recited a blessing of the food in front of them and then they sat. Cyrus grabbed a few pieces of chicken and then passed the plate to TJ. They continued serving as Cyrus’ mom began to make conversation.
“So TJ, I don’t know much about you. You’re in the eighth grade, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” TJ replied. “Cyrus and I met through Buffy when she joined the basketball team.”
“Oh yes! The team. So you play for Jefferson? I’ve never seen a game but Buffy says you all have a wonderful team.” Cyrus sunk in his chair slightly, nibbling on a piece of bread. Did TJ think it was weird he hadn’t talked to his mom about him? He hoped not.
“I’m the captain this year,” TJ said proudly. “I’m hoping to make varsity by the time I’m a sophomore in high school.”
“You will,” Cyrus interjected.
“Not as a freshman?” Leslie questioned.
“No freshman are allowed on varsity. School rule, unfortunately.”
“Maybe they’ll see you play and change their minds,” she encouraged. TJ smiled and took a sip of water. “So,” she continued. “Do you have a strong subject in school? Something you can help Cyrus in, maybe?” Cyrus frowned, what did that mean?
“I’d say I’m pretty good in history, but Cyrus doesn’t need my help. He’s acing all of his classes. He just got a 100% on his math test actually.” Cyrus tried not to blush. His boyfriend praising him to his mom over dinner? He was in a movie.
“That’s great, sweetie.” Cyrus’ mom turned to him. “And I know you’ve been working hard on your report. Maybe TJ could go over it with you?”
“Maybe,” Cyrus replied. They ate in silence for a few moments, but Leslie was determined to keep the conversation going.
“So, do you have a girlfriend, TJ?” Cyrus was glad his mouth was free at that moment, but he saw TJ choke on his water mid-sip. Thankfully, his mom didn’t seem to notice.
“Uh, nope.” He set the water on the table and pushed it away. “No girlfriend.”
“That’s too bad,” she noted. “Cyrus had this lovely girlfriend, Iris. Very pretty. What happened to her again, Cyrus?” Bury him. Six feet under, right now.
“We were better as friends,” he mumbled. He chewed on more bread, occupying his mouth.
“Friends. You do have a lot of girl friends. Your girlfriend should be your friend though. Don’t you agree, TJ?” Please excuse us, please excuse us, please excuse us, Cyrus begged.
“Yes, yep, definitely.”
“Well that’s great,” she smiled, “I’m sure you’ll have an excellent time in high school, especially being on a sports team. I keep telling Cyrus he should try-out for something.” Cyrus took a bite of chicken and stayed silent.
After fifteen more minutes of slightly less painful conversation, Cyrus and TJ were excused to go look for a movie. As soon as they were out of earshot from the kitchen, TJ leaned in and whispered to Cyrus, “You think I should get a girlfriend?” Cyrus flung himself onto the couch and TJ chuckled. “I swear, if I had been eating something solid, we would have been done for.” He squeezed himself on to what little space was left due to Cyrus’ sprawling body. Cyrus rolled over so he was face up and pulled his legs in.
“Do you actually want to watch a movie?” He asked.
“Of course,” TJ replied, picking up the remote. "You’ve got Netflix, right?” Cyrus rolled over onto his side and faced the TV. TJ was already scrolling through a list of movies. “So what does ‘free reign’ of the TV mean?”
“That I don’t need to ask before hitting play,” Cyrus admitted. TJ smiled at him but didn’t comment any further. He flickered back and forth between two movies and then settled on the first, immediately hitting play. Cyrus pulled himself up to look at his boyfriend. “Seriously?”
“It’s the greatest movie of our generation!” TJ defended. The DreamWorks logo faded onto the screen and Cyrus settled back into the couch. He didn’t really care, he just wanted to be near TJ. The storybook flickered open and the light in the living room switched off. Cyrus jumped and turned to look toward the back wall. His mom was standing in the doorway, hand on the switch,
“I’m going up, boys. Don’t stay up too late!”
“We won’t,” Cyrus promised. “Goodnight.” He listened for the sound of her feet fading up the stairs and, only when he heard a door firmly shut, did he scoot over on the couch. And while he knew with almost one hundred percent certainty that his mom would not come back downstairs, he was still too anxious to do anything other than get very close to his boyfriend. TJ threw his arm around the back of the couch, giving Cyrus a little more room. He pressed himself, extremely delicately, against TJ’s side and put his attention into the movie. It was incredibly difficult. Even with All Star playing in the background, all his brain could register was how good TJ smelled.
The movie played on but went in one ear and out the other. Cyrus wondered if TJ was this distracted. He turned to look at his boyfriend. His eyes were concentrated on the movie, but he turned almost as soon as Cyrus did. “Yes?” He asked.
“You’re distracting,” Cyrus admitted. TJ laughed and dropped his arm from the couch cushion so it was just barely hovering around Cyrus’ shoulder.
“Is this okay?” He asked quietly, motioning to his arm. Cyrus exhaled and then nodded slowly. TJ’s arm wrapped around him and Cyrus almost melted into the touch. He scooted so his side was now firmly pressed against TJ’s and he dropped his head slightly.
This was fine. He would hear the door. This feeling, it was definitely worth the risk.
Cyrus was much more comfortable now; more comfortable than he had ever been in his life. The movie played on and he was able to register at least parts of what was happening, yet he couldn’t help but doze. He was, by his definition, cuddling with TJ Kippen. He thought about the situation they were in: how until tonight he was stealing moments alone with TJ just to squeeze his hand, just to briefly hug. And here they were, wrapped up watching a movie together. Cuddling. On a couch.
He woke up with a jerk. The credits to the movie were rolling on the screen and TJ was looking down at him. “Good morning,” he whispered. “Wanna go up to bed?” Cyrus lifted his head up from his boyfriend’s shoulder and nodded. TJ shut the TV off and then pulled him up. They held hands as they made the journey to Cyrus’ room. TJ opened the door and Cyrus flopped into the bed.
“Hey.” TJ’s voice made his eyes flicker open. “I’m just gonna run to the bathroom, alright?” Cyrus mumbled something that he hoped was an affirmation and drifted back asleep.
He was woken once more only a few minutes later. “Do you want to put pyjamas on?” He sat upright and opened his eyes, meeting TJ’s face, only inches from his. He was shirtless. And in sweats. That was fine. “Maybe brush your teeth?” TJ asked.
“Definitely,” Cyrus mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He pulled himself up with all the strength he could muster and fumbled through his dresser drawer. He locked the bathroom door behind him and stood staring at his pyjamas. He hadn’t really thought about this part of the night. Would TJ make fun of his dinosaurs? Did he expect him to just wear sweats to bed? He was too tired to overthink something like this.
He pulled on his pyjamas and brushed his teeth before heading back to the bedroom. He slipped through the door and closed it behind himself quietly. TJ was sprawled out across the bed so Cyrus walked across the room and fell down onto the air mattress, looking up at the ceiling. Barely five seconds passed with that view, as TJ’s head entered his field of vision.
“What are you doing?” He asked, staring down at him.
“You can sleep on the bed if you’re more comfortable there. I’m fine on the ground,” he explained.
“You know it’s only eight-thirty.” TJ’s voice broke his daze. What? He opened his eyes and looked to his watch. It was 8:37pm.
Cyrus groaned and pulled himself up to a seated position. “I’m so sorry! I’m the worst host!”
“Hey!” TJ sat down next to him. “You invited me to a sleepover.”
“But you’re not supposed to sleep at sleepovers! You’re supposed to watch movies and eat chips and gossip and—” He ran out of things kids did at sleepovers.
“Play games?” TJ offered.
Cyrus looked to him. “Do you want to play a game? I have games!” He jumped up to his feet but TJ caught him before he could get far, and dragged him back down. Cyrus frowned at him.
“How about we watch another movie?” TJ offered.
“You want to go back downstairs?” TJ didn’t respond but he got up from the floor and started rifling through his bag, pulling out a beaten laptop.
“It’s not great, but it has an internet connection,” he offered, holding it up. “You wanna watch something? In bed?” Cyrus didn’t know what to say, he just blinked in response. TJ accepted the silence and sat down on Cyrus’ bed, pulling open the laptop. “Come up here.” Cyrus did as he was told. He pulled himself up so his legs were hanging off the edge of the bed and scooted close to TJ and his laptop. TJ pushed the laptop over onto Cyrus’ lap with the wifi connection open. Cyrus typed in the password and attempted to push it back, but TJ stopped him. “I picked the last movie.”
Cyrus scrolled through Netflix for awhile, making his choice carefully. TJ could get away with playing any dumb movie, but Cyrus’ choice would definitely be judged. He wasn’t really into movies, and so he had a hard time finding something he wouldn’t want to immediately click out of. What if it was boring? What if it was awkward? What if TJ had seen it before and hated it? There were so many ways this could go wrong. He found himself just scrolling through the same line of movies. Then doubled back around and he kept staring.
TJ knocked his leg with his own and Cyrus looked over at him. “Any day now,” he joked. Cyrus’ heart beat faster, what was he going to pick? Should he pick something he knows TJ is going to like? Or would that be too obvious? He continued to click through movies he had passed by multiple times. How much time has passed? Was it getting awkward? He still couldn’t find a single movie he felt comfortable choosing. He scrolled up and down, not even flipping through the catalog anymore.
“Hey.” TJ’s voice broke through Cyrus’ panic. “Just pick something you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be a movie.” Cyrus stopped scrolling and stared at the busy screen. Just something he enjoyed? That wasn’t hard. He hit the search bar and looked over his shoulder. TJ was now lying down across the bed, eyes to the ceiling. Cyrus typed quickly, hit play on his favourite episode, and pushed the laptop over toward TJ. He sat up and grabbed it.
Cyrus held his breath as TJ looked from the screen to him and back again. He hit the spacebar. “Took you that long, huh?” Cyrus looked down. “Hey,” TJ said. He scooted as close to Cyrus as possible and threw his arm around him, pulling him into his side. “I’m interested in anything you’re interested in,” he assured. Cyrus finally breathed out and straightened himself.
TJ pulled his arm back and slipped off the bed, walking around to the other side. He moved to get back on but then hesitated. “Which side do you sleep on?” He asked. Cyrus blinked. Side? He didn’t really have a side. It was a twin bed.
“I’m fine where I am,” he settled with. TJ smiled and then got on the bed, reaching over to grab the laptop and pulling it between them. Cyrus turned so he was facing it. TJ looked to him, still smiling, and then hit the spacebar on the computer again.
The Planet Earth music rang out through the speaker and TJ slammed down on the volume button, lowering it a few notches. He settled against the headboard for a few moments but jumped back up at the start of the narration. “Lights?” He asked. Cyrus nodded and TJ crossed the room to switch off the lights. He crawled back onto the bed and sat back down, this time just a bit closer to Cyrus.
He didn’t know what to do. Should he scoot closer as well? He was worried TJ could sense how awkward he was, how unfamiliar this territory was to him. Had TJ ever shared a bed with anyone before? Maybe he had been on multiple movie dates before. Surely he hadn’t slept over at anyones house like this though? Right?
Cyrus had never really shared a bed with anyone before. Maybe his mom when he was much younger, but other than that he couldn’t recall a single time. Even when they were little, Cyrus had to sleep in a completely separate room from Buffy and Andi during sleepovers. Now, not only was he sharing a room with someone else, but a bed too. TJ planned to fall asleep here and he planned to fall asleep here. The thought made him nervous, but surprisingly not anxious. As scary as this new territory was, the closer he was to TJ, the safer he actually felt.
He let himself relax as scenes of the earth appeared on the screen, a crane swooping through the trees. He inched himself closer to TJ, who turned and smiled at him.
“C’mere,” he said, opening up his arm. Cyrus moved into the space and TJ dropped his arm around his shoulders, lightly squeezing him.
It was perfect. This was perfect. He was perfect.
Cyrus must have managed to fall asleep again because he jerked awake upon feeling a weight smash down on him.
“Shit, sorry,” came TJ’s voice. Cyrus mumbled what should have been the word ‘what?’ but probably sounded closer to a strangling noise. “Go back to sleep,” TJ whispered. Instead, Cyrus propped himself up.
“What was that?” He asked, a little more coherent this time around.
“I was trying to move my laptop and I dropped it on you,” TJ admitted.
“Hm,” Cyrus mumbled. “Are we going to sleep?”
TJ dropped his laptop to the floor and pulled himself back up into the bed. “Yeah,” he said, scooting closer to Cyrus, “Let’s go to bed.”
Cyrus mumbled something again and slipped back down into the bed, rolling over to face TJ. He looked up to see his boyfriend smiling down at him. He wrapped him in his arms and Cyrus thought he might melt. He buried his head into TJ’s chest, wishing he would never have to leave. TJ pressed his lips against Cyrus’ forehead, and he fell into a blissful sleep.
The third time he woke up that sleepover was definitely the least pleasant of them all. He felt like he had been kicked in the stomach, and quickly realised why. TJ was scrambling out of the bed, trying to get untangled from Cyrus’ legs, which were wrapped around his. His knee had gone right into Cyrus’ abdomen in the process and Cyrus woke up just in him to see TJ frantically detach himself and fall to the ground.
He rubbed his eyes and looked down at the boy, then back up to see what had happened. He almost fell out of bed himself when his eyes scanned the doorway: his mom was staring at him, her arms crossed.
“Cyrus?” She said. “Can you please meet me downstairs?” She gave one last glance toward TJ on the floor, and then walked away.
Cyrus dropped his head into his hands as TJ got up off the ground. He sat down next to him in silence. “What are we going to say?” Cyrus mumbled.
“We?” TJ asked. “Am I going down with you? Your mom just said your name.”
He looked up at his boyfriend, “There’s no way I’m facing her alone.”
TJ grabbed his hand. “Then I’ll be there,” he said. Cyrus gave him a weak smile, but couldn’t hold it for long.
TJ didn’t let go of his hand until they hit the staircase. He gave it a squeeze and slowly let go, giving Cyrus a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be okay,” he promised.
Cyrus didn’t know what he would have done without TJ, it was the only thing grounding him. His mom would surely recognise that, right?
They made it to the living room all too fast. Cyrus was sure anyone within a mile radius could hear his heart beating. He pushed open the side door and stepped into the kitchen. His eyes fell on his mom, who was sitting at the table, it was where they had their more serious talks.
“Good morning, boys,” she said. It wasn’t so much of a greeting, just a statement. Cyrus stood in the doorway and TJ looked for him for some indication on what to do. Cyrus exhaled one last time and moved to sit at the table, TJ in suit. Cyrus bit his lip and looked up at his mom. She didn’t look angry, necessarily, but she had her ‘therapist’ demeanour about her.
“Do you want to explain?” Leslie finally asked.
“Explain what?” Cyrus tried to act innocent, but she gave him a look he knew all too well and sighed in defeat.
“We were watching a movie and I guess we fell asleep like that.” Pretty much the complete truth.
“You were watching a movie down here,” she corrected.
“TJ brought his laptop so we moved up there after the first movie,” he explained.
“Why?” It wasn’t accusatory really, Cyrus believed she genuinely wanted to know.
“Um,” was all he managed to respond. “Well because it was more—uh, it was more, um,” he wasn’t getting anywhere with that reasoning. Thankfully, TJ stepped in.
“Cyrus was falling sleep down here so I thought it would make more sense to watch upstairs so he wouldn’t have to move if he actually ended up falling asleep,” he explained. It was 100% the truth and it didn’t even sound bad.
Cyrus’ mom considered this for a second before asking another question. “So why were you asleep in the same bed this morning?” Cyrus was afraid of opening his mouth again and he looked to his boyfriend to explain.
“I guess we both just ended up falling asleep without realising it,” TJ said. Cyrus nodded along with that answer, a perfect explanation.
“And you ended up…tangled up…just like that?” She questioned. Cyrus knew she wasn’t buying it, not in the slightest. He looked to TJ again, but the boy didn’t seem to know what to say either. Leslie continued talking, “No one thought to move to the bed I had set up? Be a little more comfortable?” Cyrus wished he could tell her he had never been more comfortable in his life, but he stayed silent. Where was this conversation going to end? What was he supposed to say? Their silence was obviously concerning to his mom.
She sighed. “TJ, can you let me talk to Cyrus alone for a minute?” Cyrus closed his eyes and exhaled, sinking slightly in his chair. He didn’t know what to expect, but he really didn’t want to lose TJ by his side. His boyfriend didn’t want to argue, however, so he nodded and exited the room. “Cyrus, can you look at me?” She requested.
Cyrus did as he was told, but didn’t raise his head, looking up at her from under his eyelashes.
“Are you not telling me something?” She asked. There it was, the question he couldn’t avoid. There was no way he could say no: he morally couldn’t lie to her like that, but he also knew she wouldn’t believe him if he did.
“What should I say?” He asked, his voice quieter than he had expected.
“Whatever you want to tell me, Cyrus,” she responded. What was he supposed to say to that? He didn’t know what he wanted to tell her. Did he want to come out? To tell her he had and will never be interested in girls? Tell her TJ was his boyfriend? She spoke through Cyrus' silence. “You know I love you, right?”
He took a deep breath and lifted his head. “TJ isn’t just a friend, mom. He’s my boyfriend.” It came out a lot easier than he had expected. He had planned on a voice crack, a stutter, anything really, but he spoke with ease. It felt amazing saying it out loud to anyone besides Andi and Buffy (who he had spam texted ‘he’s my boyfriend’ to only a month earlier).
His mom gave him a smile, but there was worry in her eyes. “That’s amazing, honey,” she said. Cyrus knew she wasn’t done, so he waited for the blow. “But you understand that means you’re in trouble now, right?”
He frowned. In trouble? For being gay?
Cyrus’ mom noticed his reaction and continued. “You brought your boyfriend home under false pretences and slept in the same bed as him,” she explained. “You think I would have let that fly with Iris?”
Cyrus blinked in response. He hadn’t expected that whatsoever, and it was completely valid. He had technically lied to his mom about who TJ was and, if he thought about it, he definitely shouldn’t have been sleeping in the same bed as his boyfriend. The whole time he had been worried that it was because they were both boys, but the situation probably would have been worse if TJ had been Iris. Or, the same, he figured.
“I’m sorry,” he admitted. “I guess I didn’t really think of it that way, I was just worried about you…finding out.”
“I’m glad you’re happy Cyrus, but we need to set some ground rules, okay?” Cyrus nodded. “TJ? You can come in.”
TJ was in the room in less than three seconds, Cyrus was sure he was listening at the door the whole time. He looked slightly nervous, but much more giddy.
“Cyrus? Do you want to reintroduce me?” She asked. Cyrus smiled at this and stood up, walking over to TJ. He grabbed his hand.
“Mom, this is TJ, my boyfriend.”