Chapter Text
T.J. wasn’t sure how he got to the park of all places.
All he remembered was fighting with his old man who kept screaming at him and his mother trying to calm him down —
He had booked it out of the house without looking back. He hadn’t even bothered to put his shoes on, socks damp with dew as he wandered aimlessly. A part of him wishes he hadn’t been so hasty and had at least managed to slip the shoes in his hand on before running out. Still, having them was better than having no option other than damp socks.
With a bright side to a dark situation, he did his best to just breathe and avoid all emotions other than his anger. His anger, he felt, was justified. He had a few choice words for his father but instead wrapped his arms around his body as his attention changed to the current weather. It was early and a bit humid out as were most summer days lately. Apparently, a storm was coming and with how heavy the air felt, T.J. believed it without a doubt.
T.J. wasn’t sure what he expected when he had left his house at the butt crack of dawn. His mind had wandered to his job which always opened early, but explaining what happened and why he looked so disgusting would be one of the most unprofessional things he could do. The Spoon was closed for the day since the staff had some kind of training for new seasonal foods that his cousin no doubt will do her best to avoid making.
A weak chuckle at the thought made T.J. smile. That’s when it clicked that his cousin’s house was probably the best place to go once he was over his walk, though explaining to his uncle why he was there would definitely cause friction between family members.
The sound of creaking caught his attention, T.J. looking around to see someone swinging quietly. The closer he got, the more he noticed: like how the person’s eyes were closed, and how he seemed to be singing to himself in a barely audible tone. T.J. wasn’t great at picking out how someone was feeling, but he could tell for sure this person wasn’t happy.
They swung lazily, not aiming for height like T.J. often did. They just…let gravity do most of the work and seemed content with it.
Without thinking, he walked towards the stranger, grabbing the swing beside them and rattling it gently to gain the person’s attention. The boy jumped, turning in his direction with wide eyes. It was odd making eye contact with a stranger when he couldn’t even do that with his own parents, but it wasn’t as awful as he’d thought it would be. Still, a shock moved through him as well to the point that English suddenly felt a lot harder to use. He parted his lips to speak, but he could feel that the lump in his throat hadn’t subsided from earlier, and so instead he pressed his lips together in a thin line and turned to leave. He was stupid thinking a stranger would want to talk to him of all people. The sound of the swings rattling caught his attention, T.J. looking over to see the stranger was standing now.
A slight smile formed on the other’s lips.
Then he nodded his head towards the swing in a way that said ‘you look like you need it’.
And boy was the stranger right about that.
T.J. swung beside the stranger for what felt like hours, letting the wind hit his face and kicking himself off the ground to get higher and higher until he was practically close to going over the bar itself. After swinging out his emotions and finding himself smiling for once in a very long time, he looked down to see the stranger smiling softly at him, cheek rested against the chain of the swing and eyes squinted just barely due to said smile.
Numbers had always been more T.J.’s issue, but for the first time in his life, he had nothing to say that fit the situation he was currently in.
“T.J.”
The boy smiled wider, nodding. T.J. slowly came to a stop on his swing, watching as the other let out a slow breath and looked at him from the corner of his eye. T.J. held his breath as the stranger spoke.
“Cyrus.”
T.J. perked up, a smile nearly splitting his face in half. “Cyrus,” he repeated carefully.
Cyrus offered a small laugh at the echo.
“T.J.”
Apparently, Cyrus wasn’t much of a talker. A part of T.J. would have never guessed that since he thought that when Cyrus did speak, it was hysterical.
Over the course of a month and some change, hanging out with Cyrus had become commonplace.
The swings were their castle and despite no moat or alligators, no one ever did bother them here.
“You didn’t,” T.J. whispered from his place beside Cyrus, said teen turning red in the face and pouting a bit to show his discomfort. T.J. had asked about why he didn’t eat in the cafeteria anymore, and the fellow student hadn’t failed in providing the most horrifyingly laughable story of how he had run into an upperclassman the first day and spilled mystery meat all over her. Shockingly, Cyrus admitted she hadn’t made a big deal out of it and even tried to calm him down, but he was too embarrassed on her behalf to even step back into the place until the news died down and was replaced with some other kind of drama.
“I never would have thought you were mystery meat boy,” T.J. said in awe, Cyrus chucking a baby carrot at him while he munched on the final snacks from his lunch. They had opted to eat at the park since it wasn’t too far off from the school.
“I’m just relieved they let us go out of the building for lunch,” Cyrus said quietly, cheeks puffed out while he chewed.
This was how their lunches had been for the last few weeks, though T.J. preferred this over being with his own team at times. He loved his team, obviously, but he also knew that most of them were just that: teammates.
Cyrus was…well, Cyrus.
T.J’s first official friend. With this in mind, he frowned, continuing to watch Cyrus while the fellow student moved back and forth slowly using his legs to guide the swing. He seemed lost in thought while he chewed, T.J. clearing his throat to get his attention.
“You mentioned once that you have other friends. So why not eat with them? I’m sure they wouldn’t care if you became the meat boy.”
Cyrus shifted, turning so he was sitting on the swing with one leg on either side. He was facing T.J. now, a conflicted expression on his face.
“Buffy got a boyfriend. Andi left. Jonah met new people. Upperclassmen,” Cyrus whispered, hunched into himself. “But I’m happy for them and wouldn’t want to get in the way of all they have.”
A bit of discomfort hit T.J. in the chest at that confession. He could recall the Buffy chick from basketball practice before she had gone and made her own team. They hadn’t spoke much because of how badly they clashed, but he had to admit she had major game. He’d supported the girl’s team but never had closure with her because at that time she hadn’t mattered much to him at all.
All she was was an annoyingly stubborn girl that couldn’t take the hint.
As for not wanting to get in the way…T.J. knew that feeling all too well. That didn’t mean that Cyrus’s friends were off the hook for not deciding to reach out to him.
“They still your friends?”
Cyrus nodded immediately, eyes still glued to the ground. “They’ll always be my friends. Best .”
T.J. wasn’t sure why the words made him feel so conflicted, looking around as is searching for something. “Then where are they? Are their cellphones or fingers broken?”
Seeing how Cyrus tensed, T.J. knew he had said the wrong thing for sure. Cyrus parted and closed his lips as if attempting to come up with some type of excuse on their behalf, but instead he stood abruptly.
“We should get back.”
Standing up, T.J. shook his head. “That came out wrong. I didn’t mea—”
But Cyrus had already shoved his stuff into his bag and began the trek back to the school, lips pressed into a thin line. Following without another word, T.J. pretended not to notice the few stray tears that slipped down Cyrus’s face. He pretended that it didn’t bother him and that the sniffling from Cyrus was due to the weather getting cooler.
T.J. was the best at pretending.
“I messed up.”
Amber looked up at him in confusion, raising a brow. “What’s new?” she asked sarcastically, T.J. staring her down until her demeanor changed entirely. “Oh. You’re serious. Alright then, spill,” she corrected, sitting down and crossing her arms.
Not knowing where to start, T.J. opted to do so from the beginning and just spill everything from how he met Cyrus to their lunchtime confrontation the week before. T.J. had attempted to fix what he’d done but Cyrus was great at hiding. He supposed it wasn’t that hard for someone who hardly speaks to go unnoticed by most of their peers.
“That was…wow. You… wow .”
“Words with more than one syllable would be great, thanks,” T.J. grumbled as Amber rolled her eyes and shoved him gently.
“Well, when you go out and tell me a damn near love story between you and a stranger what did you expect to happen? I’m human! I get surprised too!”
“Love story? That wasn’t anywhere near a love story!”
Amber stood, moving back to her mirror and fixing her hair while she spoke. “Well, when you go into detail like ‘his eyes were so big’ and ‘his smile is adorable you need to see it’ it makes me think you like this guy as more than a friend.”
“That isn’t the focus right now.”
“But it could be the focus of a future talk?” Amber asked with a tilted head, staring at him through the mirror before turning. “Because you know if you do like guys that no one that matters cares, right? And even if someone did care, that’s a them problem without a doubt,” she added with a slight hair flip.
Snorting, T.J. crossed his arms. “Considering how open and out you are they might be expecting it from me any day now,” he joked. “Though my dad sure as hell didn’t like it when I mentioned not being sure what I was.”
Amber snorted this time, pointing at him with a freshly done nail. “Yeah well you’re dad is one of the biggest tools I’ve met. And my dad agrees, which never happens.”
“Well, they’re brothers so if anyone would know…” T.J. reminded as Amber smiled a bit and turned back to her reflection.
“Alright, alright. Crush aside…I don’t think you messed up at all, really. If his friends are real friends, they should be able to reach out to him too. If there is anything I’ve learned from everything that has happened…friendship is a two-way street. If one person wants out it’ll be obvious.”
“But what should I do right now? He’s avoiding me, Amb. I feel like I hit a sensitive topic because I got weirdly upset for no reason.”
Humming thoughtfully, Amber finished up her mascara and placed it down on her dresser. She turned to look at him in a way that showed he must have missed something. “You know, you are like a little brother to me. But so dense .”
“Is this just you insulting me or is there a point to all of this?” T.J. asked as Amber raised her hands to remind him to be patient.
“What’s the point of being straightforward if you aren’t listening?”
“I am listening!”
“You’re hearing me talk but not listening to the words I’m saying,” Amber scolded. ‘You’re always ‘what can I do’ or ‘what did I do’ instead of trying to understand why the other person is doing what they are. Sometimes you can’t do anything and the other person has the ball in their court as you’d say. So for now, you gotta wait and slow your roll. Let Cyrus process things too. Who knows, maybe you talked some sense into him by accident.”
Frowning, T.J. leaned back to process the advice. He knew he was an impulsive person, but he hadn’t ever realized that him continuing to try and do something would have been an issue. He thought that was just the drive-in him but maybe learning to back off would do him some good.
Kinda like what Cyrus did for his friends.
“Shit,” T.J. murmured. “I think I listened this time.”
Amber smacked him on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow. “I sure hope so because I don’t even talk that much in school and Bambi sits right next to me. My words should be saved for her so she falls in love with me.”
“Bambi? Another nickname?” T.J. teased, standing as he followed her out of her room and down the stairs. “What do you have one for every day of the week, now?”
Looking insulted, Amber huffed and shook her head. “Absolutely not!”
A pause and a look of disbelief from T.J. Amber shifted, avoiding his eyes and shrugging.
“I don’t have one for Saturday or Sunday yet,” she defended, voice getting quieter as she walked towards the living room with a clear of her throat. “Dad, you ready for dinner??”
T.J. followed with a smirk, shaking his head.
His cousin was so whipped.
Sitting at the swings was Cyrus, similar to how he looked when they first met with the exception of what looked to be a new haircut. He was bundled up a lot more than T.J. was, but then again if there was one thing he knew about Cyrus it was that he got sick faster than someone could even think of the word ‘germs’.
“Hey.”
Cyrus halted to a stop, turning and staring at him like a deer in the headlights. T.J. did his best to smile, Cyrus swallowing hard and nodding in greeting. Walking up to his swing, T.J. stood beside it and kicked at nonexistent dust.
“You came.”
He hadn’t expected Cyrus to speak first, but the words that slipped out of his mouth were too natural, even to him.
“Of course I came.”
At that, Cyrus smiled, biting into his lower lip and looking a bit rosy in the cheeks. He nodded to the swing which T.J. gladly took, though this time he swung just as lazily as Cyrus did. A few minutes later, they both turned and said:
“I’m sorry.”
T.J. blinked at him for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure where to go with the conversation. He’d fully expected to take all the blame and for Cyrus to accept it…not apologize back.
Cyrus let out an airy laugh that had T. J’s stomach doing a somersault. “Why on Earth are you sorry?” he asked with a tilt of his head. “You told me the truth and yeah…your delivery could have been better but I know you meant well.”
T.J. parted his lips, mind scrambling to come up with a reply. “How did you…what makes you think I did it out of caring and not something selfish?”
“Because you’re T.J,” Cyrus said easily.
Shaking his head, T.J. let out a deep breath. “You’re really something, you know that?” he whispered with a smile. “But even if you’re a saint and trust me for some reason, what I said was pretty rude. It wasn’t my place to talk about your friends.”
“But your advice helped. A lot, actually,” Cyrus said sounding so relieved that T.J. felt like he’d entered the twilight zone.
He’d helped someone?
By not thinking?
“Come again?” T.J. started as he leaned in, believing he had heard wrong.
Cyrus let out a snicker, shoulders shaking and hands wrapped firmly around the chains of his swing. “I reached out to them. I asked why we never talk anymore if we’re friends. I always expected that if they needed me they’d come to me and when they didn’t I guess my brain took that as them not needing or wanting me. When I asked them if we could hang out…”
T.J. could see that Cyrus was a bit choked up. This time, however, he was smiling so wide T.J. wondered if his cheeks ached.
“They all ended up coming to my house way past my curfew because they said it sounded like I needed them,” Cyrus admitted.“And so at one in the morning we all just…talked. Buffy is doing great with Marty, Andi is doing great at SAVA and talked about a crush, and Jonah found out he made some band after an audition and can officially start playing gigs. And well, I talked about you, maybe. Buffy isn’t thrilled.”
“Wow, that's really great,” T.J said sincerely as Cyrus nodded, continuing to list things excitedly.
Cyrus was obviously hysterical and awkward in certain situations, but he was also a lot more energetic when the topic was something he felt comfortable with. All this time he thought Cyrus liked the silence but now he wondered whether that was ever true at all.
“Ah…I’m rambling,” Cyrus said with a slight tint on his cheeks. “Sorry.”
“No, no, keep going. I’m listening,” T.J. promised, Cyrus chewing on his lower lip again.
“You sure?”
“About as sure as I am bad at Math.”
Cyrus stared at him for a moment and T.J. cursed his odd sense of humor until Cyrus snorted, both hands coming up to his face to cover his mouth. “ Really , Teej? Math jokes again?”
Parting his lips to respond, T.J. decided to just let this one go because of how relaxed Cyrus looked. That, and his mind sort of shut down at the fact that Cyrus had given him a nickname. A real one: not something that implied he was scary to look at or rude to anyone that looked his way.
Teej .
All of a sudden, T.J could feel how his cheeks heat and dried his hands against the top of his jeans.
But it could be the focus of a future talk?
While Cyrus attempted to catch his breath and T.J. processed what he was experiencing, he inwardly knew without needing to say it to anyone.
“Everything okay?”
Nodding, T.J. reached out his hand to gently tap Cyrus on the back of his shoulder in reassurance. “Yeah, but I bet you can’t swing higher than me!” he said as he began to swing.
Cyrus made a face and pointed at him. “That’s a bet you’d win easily.”
“Oh c’mon, get up here!”
“No way! This is part of a huge list of things I can’t do. If you can’t do Math, I can’t swing higher without nearly falling off and breaking my pinky.”
The new information about this apparent list was enough to spur T.J. even more towards wanting to know this stranger he met in the park during summer vacation. Jumping off the swing, he walked around so he was behind Cyrus, eyes flickering mischievously.
“Well, guess you better hold on extra tight!”
“Don’t you d—”
And then T.J. was pushing with all his might while Cyrus let out what sounded like a mix between a scream and a laugh.
“I’ll get you for that, Kippen!” Cyrus swore as T.J. pouted, tilting his head.
“Hmm. Then I might as well give you another push. Underdog!”
Cyrus’s scream was even funnier the second time around.