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The first time Cyrus walked down the halls alone after he and TJ had come out to the school, he was scared out of his mind. Andi was at SAVA, of course, and Buffy and TJ had early basketball practice. Cyrus had considered just hiding in the library until the halls were clear, but his class was all the way on the other side of the school and he had to stop by his locker. So, he ducked his head and tried to become invisible. Unfortunately, that ended quickly.
But not for the reason he was expecting.
“Hey, Goodman!”, a guy he had never seen before shouted before holding his hand up for a high five that Cyrus meekly returned.
As he walked down the hall, he heard a chorus of ‘Cyrus!’ and ‘Goodman!’ and different iterations of ‘Come hang out with us’. Cyrus was surprised and closed in on himself a little as he shot people shy smiles. He reached his locker and thought he had a moment's reprieve.
He was wrong.
“Hey”, a girl he didn’t know said as she and two of her friends walked up to him.
“Um, hi?”, Cyrus replied, looking at her in confusion.
“My friends and I were wondering if you wanted to come hang out with us after school.”
“Oh, um, sorry, but I already have plans”, Cyrus answered guiltily, even though he had no reason to feel guilty since he had never met nor spoken to this girl in his life.
“With what?”, one of the girls behind the first asked.
“Uh, I have a date”, Cyrus said. Not that it’s any of your business.
“Bring TJ along, too”, the other, other girl said, the first two nodding in agreement.
“Uh, I’m sorry”, Cyrus said. “Do I know you?”
“Oh, right, of course”, the first girl said. “I’m Lizzy, and this is Tallia and Riley. We all date boy’s on the basketball team.”
Cyrus said a silent ‘Oh’. The encounter made more sense now.
“Well, I’d have to talk to Teej”, Cyrus said.
“That’s cool”, Lizzy replied. The warning bell rang and she said, “We’ll see you later, k?”
Cyrus nodded, but the trio was already gone, just as quick as they appeared. Cyrus shook the weirdness of the morning off, grabbing his books and rushing to his first period.
***
“...and then they just left”, Cyrus was finishing as he walked with his boyfriend to their last period. The exclamations hadn’t stopped as the day had gone on, but no one else had randomly come up to him. In fact, most people got out of the way as he and TJ walked down the hall.
TJ chuckled at Cyrus’s recount of that morning. “Welcome to fame by association, Cy.”
Cyrus gave him a confused look and TJ explained.
“Buffy and I are the first freshmen to make varsity in ten and twelve years. You’re my boyfriend and Buffy’s best friend, people are bound to notice you. This is what it’s like when the school knows who you are.”
Cyrus looked at him before looking ahead again, considering all of this. He hadn’t thought much about it when TJ asked, “So, do you wanna go?”
“Huh?”
“You wanna go hang out with the girls and my team?”
Cyrus considered. “Well, we’ll probably be spending a lot of time together, right?”
TJ looked at him reassuringly. “We don’t have to go, babe.”
“No, no, we should go”, Cyrus assured. “I want to go”, he insisted when TJ’s look didn’t ease.
“Alright then”, TJ concluded finally as they walked into class.
***
Cyrus laughed when Lizzy finished their--cause Cyrus had soon learned they were nonbinary--story. Their boyfriend, Max, rolled his eyes, having been the brunt of the joke, but he turned to look at Lizzy fondly.
Honestly, Cyrus hadn’t been sure about today, not that he’d ever tell TJ that. But, he was truly enjoying himself. Lizzy, Tallia, and Riley were super nice and had accepted him immediately. The boys were a little more drawn to TJ, but Cyrus expected it. The others were all juniors and seniors (except Riley who was a sophomore). Cyrus was surprised that they wanted to hang out with freshman. When he had pointed it out, Lizzy had rolled their eyes and the boys all chuckled.
“Your age doesn’t change your personality. You two are both great people, and besides, you guys are a part of our team now”, Lizzy had said determinedly. And that had been that.
The group eventually had to disperse. Cyrus and the other s/o’s exchanged numbers and promises to hang out again. Eventually, it was just him and TJ walking back to his house together, hand-in-hand.
“So”, TJ began. “Good.”
Cyrus thought about it for a second, but it wasn’t a decision. “Yeah. Good.”
***
It took a few weeks, but Cyrus eventually got more used to walking through the halls. He still didn’t feel very natural doing it, but it became more of a constant. He always talked to people who came up to him because he was TJ Kippen’s boyfriend. And eventually, they just started coming up to him because he was Cyrus Goodman.
He still doubted he was popular, but you ask anyone who Cyrus Goodman was or how to get to know him.
Well, you just had to find him in the halls.