Chapter Text
Cyrus could confidently say he had been on time for every single one of his book club meetings to date, but that fateful morning found him rushing through the streets about 5 minutes after the start time, silently cursing his luck as he tugged on a jacket.
He swore the universe had been out to get him from the start - he woke up on the floor for one, which meant that his shoulders were so stiff he could barely move them, then when he went to check his phone he discovered that it was out of battery. In turn, that had him jolting awake in an almost comical fashion and rushing downstairs to check the time. There were 10 minutes until the meeting would begin and he barely even had time to think as he grabbed his phone, a portable charger and bolted out of the house.
“Sorry!” he apologised for the hundredth time, hurtling left around a corner. It was Friday, and the streets were already bustling with anticipation for the weekend ahead. The sky was dreary though, which only seemed to add to the list of things dampening his mood.
He arrived at the glass doors of a small coffee shop he usually stopped by and practically threw them open. He didn’t even realize how worn out he was from running until he began to calm down slightly, his face tinged red and breathing laboured.
The café was small and usually unpopulated, which was Cyrus’ favourite thing about it. The furnishing was all retro, with coloured walls and bold paintings hung everywhere.
“Hey Sophie,” he greeted (or rather - panted) as he approached the counter.
She gave him a knowing smile. “Hey, Cyrus. The usual?”
“Please. I’m running on pure adrenaline and a few hours of sleep right now.”
She clicked her tongue in disapproval, typing the order in. “A few hours of sleep? That’s not very you.”
“I was up doing summer vacation homework,” he admitted with a sigh.
“That’s...not very you, either.”
“Hey!” he defended, “I’m only human. Besides, everyone procrastinates their summer vacation homework. It’s a universal thing.”
“I didn’t,” said Sophie with a smug smile as she began to busy herself with the coffee machines.
“Geez, can you spare me some work ethic? Junior year is killing me.”
“Junior year?” she laughed. “Wait till you get to college.”
“Hey - what have I said about putting me off college?”
Sophie just laughed again, walking back over, sealing the cup and writing his name across it in her usual scrawl.
“Here you go, Cy.”
“I love you so much,” he said seriously as he took the cup from her hands.
She shook her head slightly at that. “I love you too. Now get going! You looked like you were in a rush."
Cyrus’ stomach dropped at the reminder of his book club meeting, and he turned around with a dramatic sigh. “You’re right. Bye Sophie!”
He made for the door, but someone on the other side beat him to it. He was tall with dirty blonde hair, and - were those green eyes?
He didn’t even realize he had frozen until the boy stepped inside, an amused grin on his lips.
“Hey there. You okay?”
“Yeah!” he said quickly, very nearly dropping his coffee in attempt to compose himself. “Sorry.”
They were in close proximity now, standing in front of the doorway. They both moved to one side, then the other, and the boy began to laugh.
“Okay - lets both go to our left.”
Cyrus nodded and did as he was told, stepping past with a faint smile.
“We did it!” he cheered playfully, turning back around to face him.
“We did!” the other boy confirmed, still smiling.
They lingered there for a moment, both clearly wanting to say something more but not knowing exactly what. Cyrus considered small talk for a moment, but quickly decided that the enduring awkwardness would not be worth it in the slightest.
“I uh - really should get going.”
He made no effort to move after this announcement, and the boy seemed to notice because he was smiling again now, leaning up against the wall behind him.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
Cyrus was slightly taken aback by the question, but a knowing smile formed on his lips nonetheless.
“No. You don’t. At least - I don’t know you.”
“Huh,” he replied, nodding slowly. “That’s a shame.”
“Is it?” Cyrus challenged, lifting an eyebrow in question.
The bustling sounds from outside only seemed to grow louder as nine o’clock drew nearer, and Cyrus knew for a fact that he had missed at least half of his book club meeting by now.
He couldn’t find it within himself to care about either of those things at that moment.
The boy’s smile widened. “I’m TJ.”
Cyrus nodded. “Yup - I definitely don’t know any TJ’s.”
“Well...you could know one if you wanted to.”
Cyrus’ eyes widened slightly at that, and he glanced nervously around the café for a moment. He couldn’t help but think that TJ was being flirty at that moment, and the last thing he needed was to be outed somehow. When he was certain there was no one there from his school, he returned his gaze to TJ with a small smile.
“I’m Cyrus,” he returned, “and I guess I wouldn’t mind getting to know a TJ...if it’s just as friends of course.”
“Pfft, totally,” TJ responded, pushing himself up from his position against the wall, “that’s what I meant too.”
Cyrus gave him a knowing smile as he fished around in his bag for a pen and a sticky note, letting out a triumphant ‘aha!’ when he felt them and pulled them out.
He took a few moments to write his number down, before tearing off the note and sticking it to the laptop he hadn’t even registered TJ was holding.
“I’ll see you around, TJ,” he said, before turning around and pushing the door. It wouldn’t budge, and it took him an embarassing few seconds to remember that it was a pull door. He let out a small, mortified groan as he stepped back and pulled it open.
“I meant to do that,” he insisted, throwing a glance over his shoulder at TJ.
He was stood there with his laptop hugged to his chest, a fond smile on his face as he observed the boy.
“Sure. We’ll stick with that,” he teased, and that was the last thing Cyrus heard before the door gently closed behind him.
He had missed a majority of his book club meeting by now so it really wouldn’t be worth going, but at least he could say he had gotten coffee. And that he had met a cute boy with pretty green eyes and a heart-melting laugh and - yeah okay, he’d stop there.
~
Friday, 12:37pm
TJ: Heyy
Cyrus: Hii
Cyrus: That was quick haha
TJ: I’m a quick person!
Cyrus: Suure
Cyrus: So what’s up?
TJ: Welllll
TJ: I was wondering if you wanted to hang out over the weekend?
Cyrus: A hang out, huh?
TJ: Yeah!
TJ: Only if you want to of course :)
Cyrus: That sounds fun
Cyrus: When? And where?
TJ: You could come over maybe?
Cyrus: Hmmm
Cyrus: How do I know for sure that you’re not an axe murderer?
TJ: Okay valid point
TJ: But I promise I’m not an axe murderer
Cyrus: ...That sounds like something an axe murderer would say
TJ: Fiine, then what about that park near the café?
Cyrus: Sure! Does tomorrow at 3 work?
TJ: It does!
TJ: I’ll see you then :)
Cyrus put his phone down with a heavy sigh. It was Saturday now, and he was reading over his conversation with TJ to check their meeting time. He honestly wasn’t sure if it was the caffeine or the lack of sleep that had somehow made him agree to hang out with someone he barely knew, but he had, and that was why he was currently turning his room upside-down in search of clothes to wear.
A glance out of his window confirmed that the dreary sky from yesterday had been replaced with clear blue. There was sun streaming through his parted curtains, creating a strip of dust-speckled light across his navy blue bed covers.
Eventually, he managed to narrow his choices down to two pairs of jeans; one a light shade of blue and the other a darker shade of blue, along two patterned shirts.
He groaned in despair after a few minutes and collapsed down onto his bed. Usually, he would send pictures to either Buffy or Andi in order to help him choose, but he knew this time that would only lead to questions he really couldn’t answer.
Why was he even overthinking it this much?
He wanted to say that it was just his brain - he was very prone to over complicating things after all, and social interactions weren’t exempt from that, but deep down he knew that wasn’t the only reason.
There was something about TJ that made him feel jittery inside in a way he hadn’t felt since - nope. He wasn’t going there.
He propped himself up his elbows and slowly got up, attempting to fix his hair slightly as he looked down at the jean and shirt combos.
He eventually settled for his dark blue jeans and a slightly obnoxious polka-dotted button up. To be fair though - he could’ve chosen his slightly more obnoxious dinosaur patterned shirt, but he refrained. That one was a ‘hang out with close friends’ kind of shirt.
The walk was a quick one, and for once he found himself taking in the scenery around him rather than scrolling through his phone. The park was right by a busy intersection, which wasn’t exactly the best placement if you asked him, but it did add a nice pop of green to what would otherwise be a relatively dull street.
The sun was still shining but it wasn’t hot in the slightest, even by his standards. There was soft, pleasant breeze gusting past him as he walked down the path, spotting TJ dangling on a swing in the distance.
He quickened his pace slightly (a very rare occurrence for him), and after a minute or so he was approaching the boy with a smile.
“Hey there!”
TJ jumped slightly and looked up from his phone, eyes wide.
“You weren’t expecting me?” Cyrus teased, moving to take the swing next to him.
“Pfft, of course I was!” TJ insisted, pocketing his phone. “Just not now. You’re early, you know?”
Cyrus raised an amused eyebrow. “You’re earlier.”
“I’m always early.”
“Really?”
TJ smirked slightly at that, but didn’t respond otherwise. Cyrus couldn’t help but think he didn’t how to.
The wind had picked up slightly by now, rustling the oak trees around them and displacing a few of the acorns that littered the path in front of them.
“Oh! I almost forgot,” TJ said suddenly, reaching over to pick up his bag from the ground. He rummaged around for a few moments before pulling out a bag of gummy bears, laughing slightly at the way Cyrus’ face instantly lit up.
“You brought gummy bears!” he exclaimed, not even bothering to hide his excitement in the slightest.
TJ just laughed again and got up from his swing, offering the bag to Cyrus. “My sister was going to bring them to her - uh - friend’s place a few days ago but she completely forgot about them so...they’re mine now.”
“I know I should feel bad but...gummy bears!”
TJ had a fond smile on his face as he watched Cyrus grab a handful.
“You don’t care about the colours?” he asked as he moved back over to his swing and sat down.
“Nope. Not at all.”
Silence settled for a few moments after that as they began making their way through the gummy bears.
“So Cyrus,” TJ began, pushing off the ground to start swinging slightly. “What sort of stuff are you interested in?”
There was a playful lilt to TJ’s voice now, which had Cyrus’ stomach flipping. He contemplated for a moment before responding, somewhat hesitantly.
“Well...I like reading and writing. Oh - and baking! Even though I’m terrible at it. My friend got me into bracelet-making and knitting recently, so I’ve been doing that too.”
TJ’s fond smile was back in full force. “Cute,” he responded.
Wait. Cute?
“What about you?” Cyrus asked quickly, choosing not to acknowledge the comment because his face already felt like it was on fire and that would only make it worse.
TJ was swinging a bit higher now, while Cyrus was only swaying slightly.
“I like reading too,” he said after a moment. “But I really like dancing.”
“Dancing?” Cyrus inquired, trying hard to mask his shock. He obviously didn’t do a great job though, because TJ began to laugh.
“Yup,” He smiled. “Surprised?”
“No! Um - I mean - well...kind of. What kind of dancing?”
“Hip-hop mainly, but I like other styles too,” TJ replied, clearly amused.
“Oh,” was all Cyrus could muster in response.
He fell silent for a moment, before adding “Maybe you could show me a routine?”
He honestly meant for the words to come out jokingly, but he realized almost instantly he fell short. Drastically.
TJ got up with a smirk. “You wanna see a routine?”
“No!” Cyrus exclaimed, regretting the comment almost immediately, “I mean - yes! But only if you’re comfortable with-“
“I’m comfortable,” TJ assured him, shaking out his arms and legs as he moved over to the grass. “If I were wearing jeans on the other hand...then I wouldn’t be.”
Cyrus found himself laughing nervously at that. TJ looked good like this - far too good if you asked him, with sweatpants, a white shirt and wind-swept hair that somehow managed to fall nicely regardless. Now he was going to dance?
He hastily tried to tune back into what TJ was saying as he stretched.
“...There’s this song that we’ve been practising at the studio recently, I think you’d probably know it, it’s called 7 rings?”
Cyrus was almost certain he was gaping now but he didn’t know how to stop. TJ was going to dance to 7 rings? Oh god. Oh god.
“Uh...” he trailed off, trying desperately to compose himself. “I do know it. It’s on my phone, actually. Should I play it?”
TJ smiled and nodded. “That’d be good. I kinda wanna wait for that family over there to get in their car though.”
He nodded towards a spot behind Cyrus, and he instantly turned around. As it turns out, there was a family there, loading their car up and buckling their toddler in. They were all inside after a few minutes, and the park was left surprisingly empty again as they drove away.
“Okay!” TJ announced, pulling Cyrus right out of his thoughts. “I’m ready when you are.”
So - never, he couldn’t help but think as he smiled and opened his music app. He looked up at TJ and gave him a questioning look, his finger hovering over the play button. TJ nodded, and Cyrus tapped it, his traitorous heart racing as he looked at the boy.
TJ began by strutting forward, his hand on his hip and his head held high. Then - he was off, his movements fluid in a way that had Cyrus mesmerised almost instantly. They were precise and obviously calculated, but free at the same time as he moved across the grass. The wind had calmed down by now, and the lyrics rung out clearly as he danced.
You like my hair, gee thanks! Just got it, I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it
To say Cyrus was a blushing mess would be a severe understatement. He could feel his face growing redder by the moment, if that was even possible, and he very desperately hoped that TJ was too caught up in his routine to notice.
He looked even better like this, psssion evident in his movements, and Cyrus couldn’t pry his eyes away until the very closing lyric, which had TJ ending up on the grass with his knees bent and his shoulder raised as he looked directly at Cyrus.
Shit.
“That was so good!” he ended up blurting, and that had TJ laughing as he got up.
“Thanks!”
Cyrus’ heart was still racing as TJ sat down again, and he found himself bringing both of his hands up to his face in attempt to cool it down. The only problem was that his hands were also warm - probably even warmer than his face was.
Why did he have to be so prone to blushing?
“You look warm,” TJ said suddenly.
Cyrus very nearly jumped at that.
"Really?” he responded, trying hard to seem casual as lowered his hands. “I don’t feel warm.”
The boy lifted a disbelieving eyebrow, a slight smirk at the corner of his lips. “Sure you don’t,” he teased as he got up again.
Cyrus was frozen as he walked over, stopping right in front of his swing.
“Uh...” he managed, gripping the chains beside him.
“I always have cold hands,” TJ explained, placing them gently on Cyrus’ cheeks.
There they were - at the edge of an empty park right by a main road, the sun shining and a breeze ghosting over them, TJ standing in front of Cyrus with his (very soft) hands pressed to the boy’s face.
This was totally, 100% normal.
“You’re right,” he murmured after a moment, barely daring to breathe. “They are cold.”
“Told you,” TJ responded, but for some reason he didn’t seem so smug now. He actually seemed hesitant, his expression nervous and his lips parted slightly. Cyrus couldn’t help but smile.
“Okay, I think my face is sufficiently cold now.” he told the boy, a part of him regretting the words instantly.
TJ laughed slightly and stepped away, clearly thinking up a way to ease any awkwardness.
“Um...gummy bear?” he offered, grabbing the bag again.
Cyrus let out a small sigh of relief. “Yeah. Please.”
~
“Oh look, here come the saints in uniform!”
Cyrus gave Buffy a stern look at that, but her annoyance seemed to get the better of her because she stopped to retaliate anyway.
“Oh look - here come the losers of last year’s basketball final! Who knows? Maybe uniforms make better players.”
The rivalry between Jefferson High and Salt Lake Academy was infamous, and every year it only seemed to grow more heated. Cyrus couldn’t help but think it had officially passed the point of being ‘friendly competition.’
“Don’t act all high and mighty, Driscoll,” the ringleader jeered. “If it weren’t for that scholarship, you’d be over here with us.”
“You’re right,” Buffy began through gritted teeth, taking a step forward. “And you know what? If I were over there, maybe you’d actually be winning some of your games.”
Andi sighed heavily and tugged at the sleeve of Buffy’s school jumper. “These guys aren’t worth it, Buffy. Let’s just go.”
The girl immediately softened at that, throwing one last annoyed glance over her shoulder as they began making their way again.
“I can’t believe half of those Jefferson kids,” Buffy mumbled.
Cyrus shrugged. “A lot of them are nice.”
“That’s because everyone likes you the moment you start talking to them, Cyrus.”
“Buffy Driscoll, are you saying that I’m likeable?“
Buffy was smiling now. “I’m saying that barely anyone can find it within themselves to be mad at you.”
“Not with those adorable eyes!” Andi teased, giving her friend a playful nudge as they walked through the school gates.
“Well, I do pride myself on my ‘I’m innocent and sweet so please don’t raise your voice at me’ look,” Cyrus bragged. “It even works on teachers!”
Andi and Buffy exchanged an amused look.
The sun was out, much like the day before, except now it was bringing heat with it - far too much heat if you asked Cyrus. As they crossed the basketball court, he let out a dramatic groan.
“I’m already dying,” he complained.
“Cyrus, it’s literally 8am on the first day. You can’t be dying yet.” Buffy deadpanned.
“Valid point,” he responded with a sigh.
Buffy playfully rolled her eyes. “Just think - all you have to do is survive today, then you can go home and...uh...”
“Do homework?” he finished.
She winced. “Yeah.”
They were at their lockers in no time after that, pulling out books and preparing for their first subjects.
“Think you’ll survive Bio?” Andi asked as they made their way to class.
“Barely. You?”
“Only if you poke me every few seconds so I don’t fall asleep.”
Cyrus laughed slightly. “How many hours of sleep did you get last night?”
“Not enough. But I was up late talking to someone!” she defended.
“Who?”
She seemed to realize her mistake then, because she began to back-track.
“I mean - I wasn’t actually talking! I was texting - with my...internet friend.“
Cyrus gave her a playful poke. “You’re very convincing, you know that?”
Andi just stuck her tongue out as they walked into the classroom, and Cyrus knew then that he probably shouldn’t push it.
~
The next few periods crept by a criminally slow pace, but eventually Cyrus was free to sit with Andi at the cafeteria. She was talking animatedly about about all of the bracelets she could make out of a box of old magazines Cece didn’t need anymore, Cyrus nodding along enthusiastically, when’s Buffy bounded up to their table.
“Guys!” She called, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she skidded to a halt in front of their table. “I signed up for Salt Lake’s new school dance team!”
“Salt lake has a dance team now?” Andi asked, moving slightly to free up a spot.
“I know, right? I only found out about it through the coach during second period. Apparently Jefferson High has had a team for like 2 years now, so you know what that means!”
Cyrus lowered his muffin, confusion written all over his face. “...What does that mean?”
“Another thing to beat them in.” Buffy responded with a smug smile.
Andi couldn’t help but laugh. “You seriously have a one-track mind, Buffy. How do you know they won’t be better than you guys?”
“The coach said they’re all pretty average,” she explained, pausing for a moment to sip her drink. “Except for this this one guy who’s apparently been dancing for ages. TJ I think it was? But that doesn’t matter, with some practise I’ll be top of the dancing game in no time.”
Cyrus let out a nervous laugh, his stomach turning as he put down his own drink.
“What - uh - did you say that guy’s name was?”
“TJ,” Buffy replied slowly. “Why?”
“No reason! Just curious,” Cyrus assured, trying hard to keep his cool. He glanced around at the swarms of the students filling the cafeteria, feeling his stomach drop even further at the confirmation.
This could not be happening.