Work Text:
“Marty did what now?!”
“He kissed me!” Buffy repeated to an astonished Cyrus, whose mouth was hanging agape. “Do you want me to say it again?”
“Oh, no. I heard you the first time. I’m just still trying to process this absolutely incredible information,” Cyrus said matter-of-factly, with wide eyes displaying his surprise.
Buffy chuckled at his response and shook her head, grinning upon thinking back on it. “Yeah, I think I’m still processing it, too.”
Cyrus tilted his head at her and immediately grinned. “You’re not even trying to hide your smile.”
Her smile, as wide as an ocean, only grew wider before responding, “I guess I’m just really happy right now.”
Cyrus reached out and rested his hand upon Buffy’s shoulder. “I’m really glad for you, Buff.”
“Thank you, Cyrus.” The two friends grinned at each other for a moment longer, until Buffy said, “Now, tell me about TJ.” She raised her eyebrows, “I saw you guys talking at the party.”
“Oh.” Cyrus’ hand immediately dropped from Buffy’s shoulder, suddenly overcome with nerves. “That.”
It was early Monday morning before the start of school, and TJ and Cyrus had yet to see each other since Andi’s party. Unbeknownst to one another, both boys had been drowning in their own nervousness about what would happen when they saw each other next, unsure of how the events of the party would change their friendship. Cyrus had felt an odd combination of excitement and anxiousness when reminded that he would be seeing TJ today and tried to push away thoughts of the latter ignoring him for the rest of their lives.
“Speaking of which...” Buffy’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts and back to reality.
“What? He’s here?” Cyrus asked, suddenly very worried and seriously fighting the urge to run away.
Buffy looked at him questioningly, but decided to save it for another time. “Um, well, given the fact that he is walking in this direction, I would say yes.”
Cyrus’ eyes practically bulged out of his head.
TJ knew before going to school that day that he just had to talk to Cyrus; avoiding him would only make his nerves worse. It was too late to turn back anyway, for Buffy had already spotted him coming their way by the lockers. So he decided to school a casual face and ignore the anxious feeling in his stomach as he pushed his legs forward to the pair of friends.
Cyrus heard the footsteps behind him come to a halt, immediately causing him to tense up.
“Driscoll.”
“Kippen.”
“Mind if I talk to Cyrus for a minute?” TJ inquired.
Buffy pretended to ponder the question for a moment, scrunching her face up and looking off somewhere in the distance before meeting TJ’s eyes again. “Yeah, I think I can allow it for a minute or two.” She saw the look of panic in Cyrus’ eyes, but she knew he had no reason to be worried; she noticed the way they looked at each other. So she just waved at Cyrus and headed to class, leaving the two alone in the semi-crowded hallway.
Cyrus slowly turned around to face TJ. The two stared at each other, dumbstruck, for a little longer than necessary, both at a loss for words.
Eventually, Cyrus mustered up the courage to speak and said a small, “Hi.”
“Hi,” TJ responded in a daze.
Another moment passed before Cyrus reminded him, “You wanted to talk to me?”
TJ’s eyes widen for a second before he sputtered, “Right! Yes! I did!” He pointed at Cyrus. “I, um...I wanted to talk to you...about...”
“About what?” Cyrus questioned, sheepishly.
“Um...about the - the...” TJ’s words trailed off again.
“About the party?” Cyrus supplied, feeling his heart rate speed up even more than before.
“Yeah,” TJ breathed out. “The party.”
They locked eyes and held them there for a moment, images of intertwined hands on a bench flashing in their minds. They both looked down, color rushing to their cheeks.
“Um,” TJ tried again. “I wanted to see if maybe you wanted to meet up sometime...and talk...”
“About what happened at the party?” Cyrus looked back up to TJ, searching for his eyes.
Eyes that were fixed on the ground looked up to meet Cyrus’. “Yes.”
Cyrus couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Um, okay. Are you free after school today?”
TJ’s face fell. “I - I can’t today. I have basketball after school.”
“Right!” Cyrus closed his eyes in embarrassment; he couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about that. “I knew that...”
“I’m free tomorrow, though.”
His eyes shot open. “Oh?”
“Yeah.”
“Well...how about you come to my house after school? We can talk there.”
TJ couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Okay!” He said a little too loudly. “Uh, tomorrow, then.”
Cyrus gave him a reassuring smile, while suppressing the bundle of nerves in his stomach. “Tomorrow.”
They both stood there for a minute, staring anywhere but each other. It was Cyrus that finally said, “Um, well, I should get to class.” He chuckled while walking away from TJ backwards. “You should, too!” His back hit the lockers behind him, startling not only the pair of pining friends, but everyone else around them. Cyrus then awkwardly waved goodbye to TJ and walked briskly out of the hallway, leaving TJ standing there, wondering what just happened.
It was after school on Tuesday, and TJ was standing in front of Cyrus’ door. He’d been working up the courage to knock for the past two minutes and was raising his fist when the door suddenly opened, revealing a smiling Cyrus. “Hi, Teej.”
A smile spread across TJ’s face upon hearing the nickname. “Hi.”
They stood there staring at each other for a moment before Cyrus hurriedly said, “Oh, sorry. Come in.”
TJ followed Cyrus to his room, stopping in the doorway as Cyrus sat on his bed. “Um, come sit.” He patted the spot beside him on the bed.
TJ slowly made his way to the bed, making sure not to sit too close to Cyrus. He had enough breathing problems at the moment as it was; he definitely didn’t need any more.
Time seemed to drag on forever as they sat in silence, both too scared to speak first. Cyrus finally spoke up, “Um, what did you want-“
“I like you!” TJ blurted out, panic present in his expression.
Cyrus’ breath caught in his throat; he was taken by surprise. Just as he was about to say something back, TJ spoke again. “I - I thought it was obvious...you know, with what happened at the party, but I just wanted to make sure it was clear.” He searched for a response in Cyrus’ eyes, afraid that he might have misinterpreted what happened.
“Oh,” Cyrus said quietly. “Um, thanks for making that clear.” He mentally beat himself. Thanks for making that clear? He thought. What kind of response is that?
He could see the panic in TJ’s eyes turn to sadness, obviously thinking Cyrus’ lack of a real response meant his feelings were not returned, and he just could NOT have TJ thinking that.
“Oh, stop making that face!” Cyrus said, waving his hands. TJ’s face scrunched up in confusion. “I like you, too!”
TJ’s eyes widened again. “You do? You really do?”
“Yes!” Cyrus said, exasperated. “I like you a lot.”
Relief flooded TJ’s face, and he breathed out a sigh. “Oh.” A grin formed on his face. “You had me really worried there for a second.”
“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t help but smile back, finally able to let his nerves go.
“It’s okay,” TJ chuckled.
They quickly fell into another silence, now unsure of where to go from here. Wanting to make the most of this moment, Cyrus slowly reached out to rest his hand on TJ’s, which lay on the bed. “Is this okay?” he asked, tentatively.
TJ’s eyes lit up and a grin appeared on his face again. “Yes.” He turned his hand around and intertwined his fingers with Cyrus’. They smiled at each other fondly, and all worry was gone.
A couple minutes later, TJ cleared his throat. “Cyrus?”
He looked up to TJ. “Yes?”
“Um, do you think you’d want to go on a date...with me? Like on Friday, maybe?” He asked, nervous all over again.
But there was no need to worry, for Cyrus only smiled and said, “Yes. I’d really like that, Teej.”
He sighed and smiled back. “Okay. I was thinking maybe we could go to the swings? Cause it’s like...our spot. I know it’s a little cold out, but if we dress warm, it should be fine.”
“It’s perfect, TJ,” Cyrus reassured him.
“You think so?”
“Yeah, I really do.” He paused for a moment. “Oh! I’ll bring hot chocolate!” He exclaimed excitedly.
TJ looked at him fondly before nodding his head. “Sounds like a plan.”
“We’re still going to hang out during the week, right?” Cyrus questioned, fearing he wouldn’t be able to see him until the end of the week.
“Of course! I thought I’d stop by The Spoon tomorrow. Will you be there?”
Cyrus thought for a second. “Uh, yeah. I’ll actually be there tomorrow with Andi, Jonah, Buffy...and I think Marty might come, too.”
“Awesome!” TJ exclaimed. “Tomorrow, then.”
“Tomorrow.”
They looked at each other fondly and sat there for a while, holding hands and basking in their newly confessed feelings.
“So, Cyrus...” Buffy started. “Do you have anything to tell us?”
Cyrus started to panic; he knew what she was asking about. I want to tell them, but what if TJ doesn’t want anyone to know yet? He thought. I can’t do that to him.
Cyrus, Buffy, Andi, and Jonah were sitting together in a booth at The Spoon, awaiting the arrival of Marty and TJ. Cyrus shifted nervously in his seat next to Jonah, not sure of how to get out of this. “Oh, me? No, not really! There’s not much going on in the world of Cyrus,” he laughed nervously.
Buffy was unimpressed and was about to urge him on more, but the door opened to reveal an anxious-looking TJ. He looked around until he spotted the group and made his way towards them. Cyrus immediately spotted him and informed the group of his presence.
“Jonah, move!” Buffy said, urgently.
Jonah looked at her, confused. “What? Why?”
“Just do it!” She moved over - closer to Andi - so Jonah could come over to their side of the booth. He still didn’t understand why, but he did as he was told.
TJ made it over to their table, smiling upon seeing the boy he liked. “Uh, hi guys.”
“Hi!” Cyrus said a little too loudly. Everyone looked over to him, making his smile falter, but they only looked back to TJ and invited him to sit with them, motioning to sit beside Cyrus.
Cyrus definitely did not expect TJ to sit that close to him, causing his heart rate to speed up. He looked over to him and they both smiled when their eyes met, only to look away nervously.
TJ looked up to the three sitting across from him. “Um, so what’s up?”
Andi made eye contact with Cyrus and smirked at him mischievously. “Well, we were just asking Cyrus if he had anything to tell us. Apparently, his life is quite boring right now.”
Blue eyes met brown, and Cyrus looked at him apologetically. TJ knew that Cyrus would want to tell his friends; he knew the only reason he didn’t was because he didn’t want to do so without TJ being okay with it. He reached out to hold Cyrus’ hand, whom responded by intertwining their fingers together. They shared a small smile before they looked back to the three across from them, whom all shared a confused look.
“Well, we actually do have something to tell you,” TJ said, before looking over to Cyrus.
They held eye contact for a moment before Cyrus turned back to his friends. “Um, yes we do.”
They looked at him expectantly as he gathered the courage to tell them. He obviously wanted them to know because, well, it was really exciting; the boy he liked actually liked him back! But telling them meant that there was no backing out of this date. It wasn’t that Cyrus didn’t want it to happen - oh, he definitely did - but he knew that once they did this, there was no going back to their friendship before. Maybe it was already too late, but this date would change everything between them. What if TJ decides he doesn’t actually like me after we go to the swings? This thought constantly went through his head, but in that moment, he felt his hand being squeezed and TJ looked at him reassuringly. That was all he needed.
“We are going on a date.” Cyrus breathed out, not realizing that he had been holding his breath.
Tiny gasps were heard from the three on the other side, before all of their faces burst with a smile. “That’s amazing!” Buffy said.
“When is it? And where?” Andi asked excitedly.
Buffy looked over to her friend. “Hey, you’re not going on the date with them.”
Cyrus interrupted before Andi could respond. “Oh, it’s okay! We’re going to the swings on Friday sometime after school.”
“That sounds really great, guys!” Jonah chimed in.
Cyrus smiled at all his friends. He had never felt this happy and relieved before, apart from the moment TJ had confirmed his feelings. He could talk to his friends openly about this...and they were actually excited to hear! They wanted to know! AND they already knew TJ! He didn’t have to hide anything now!
As much as TJ really enjoyed spending time with Cyrus’ best friends, he kind of just wanted him to himself at that moment. “Hey, you guys wouldn’t mind if I stole him from you for a little bit?”
Cyrus spun his head toward him, confused by his sudden statement. Before he could ask him anything, Andi said, “Go right ahead. We’ll catch up with him later,” and gave him a wink.
Before he knew what was going on, TJ was tugging his hand and pulling him out of the booth with him. Just as they started walking towards the exit, the door opened to reveal a sweating Marty. “Hey guys, sorry I’m la-“ he paused as he ran into the two boys and looked down at their hands. His mouth hung open as he processed what he saw before nodding his head and saying, “Yeah, this makes sense.” He looked up to the two. “Congratulations!” He said before maneuvering around them and into the booth. TJ and and Cyrus just looked at each other in astonishment before shrugging and walking out of the restaurant.
Their hands were still connected as they walked, both extremely aware of this fact. As a group of people walked their direction, their fingers untwined and fell apart, the reason apparent. As they continued walking, there was an awkward silence between them. Unable to stand it any longer, TJ grabbed Cyrus hand and started to run. “C’mon.”
Cyrus giggled, which was music to TJ’s ears. “What are we doing?”
TJ pretended to ponder this for a moment. “I don’t know, Cyrus. What does it look like we’re doing.”
“Well, we’re running, but I don’t know where to.”
Suddenly, TJ slowed and came to a stop, causing Cyrus to bump into him. “Here,” He said, grinning. “This is where.”
In front of them stood a long, wide path with trees lining each side. The trees bore no leaves but were just as aesthetic in the cool breeze. “It’s beautiful,” Cyrus said.
“Yeah. It is,” TJ agreed, but he wasn’t looking at the trees.
They just missed meeting each other’s eyes as TJ looked back to the path and Cyrus looked over to him. An idea came into his head and before he could talk himself down from it, he put his hands on TJ’s shoulder, leaned up, and kissed his cheek.
TJ’s face immediately turned red and his mouth fell open in complete surprise. He looked over to Cyrus, who was staring at his shoes, pretending he didn’t just do what he did. TJ was quietly panicking inside; he wasn’t prepared for something like that. He definitely liked it and wanted it to happen again in the future - that much he knew. What he didn’t know was how to make that happen.
His heart beat fast in his chest, thundering in his ears. There’s no way Cyrus can’t hear this, he thought. “Um...” He was panicking and had absolutely no idea how to recover. “Uh, Cyrus. I think I need to go home!” he blurted out before realizing what he said.
Cyrus’ head snapped up. “What?”
TJ started to back away. “I’m sorry! I just remembered that I have, um, homework to do. Yeah! I have a lot of homework.”
Cyrus tilted his head to the side, scrunching up his face in confusion. “Uh, okay?”
TJ waved his hand and yelled a quick, “Bye!” before running back home, leaving a bewildered Cyrus alone with the trees.
Once he got home, he ran up to his room and buried his face in his pillows, wanting nothing more than to scream into them. I had homework to do? TJ couldn’t believe his sudden departure. I’m such an idiot! Now, he’s going to think I didn’t like it! He could not have Cyrus thinking that, especially since it was actually quite the opposite. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. I know! I’ll just surprise Cy tomorrow by kissing him on the cheek! Then, he won’t feel bad for doing it! TJ finally felt a bit more relaxed; the tension in his body finally sunk into his bed. There was no reason to stress anymore.
TJ had never been more stressed in his life. Throughout the school day, he tried to convince himself that it would all turn out alright, but now that it was time for him to find Cyrus, the nerves in his stomach awakened and threw a party.
He was trying to work up the courage to kiss Cyrus on the cheek, an act he never imagined causing this much stress. He was going to kiss a boy on the cheek. And that boy was Cyrus freaking Goodman! He felt like he was going to faint.
He noticed Cyrus sitting at a table outside, exactly where he said he’d be after school today. He took a deep breath in and exhaled our. You can do this, TJ. He reassured himself. You can totally do this.
He took one more breath before forcing his legs to walk over to Cyrus, whose back was facing him. He quietly stood next to him, bent down slightly, and just as he was about to press his lips -
Cyrus suddenly stood up from his spot and climbed over the bench, only to be met with a falling TJ, whose hands reached out in front of him to catch himself on the table and bench. They looked at each other with wide eyes, as Cyrus’ brain was whirling a mile a minute, trying to figure out what happened.
“Wait,” Cyrus’ shock turned to amusement. “What were you doing?”
TJ straightened himself up and felt the sudden need to fix his clothes. He shook his head, as he said, “Nothing.”
Cyrus smirked at him. “No, that’s not true. You were going to kiss me on the cheek!” He started giggling, and suddenly TJ forgot how to respond to such an accusation.
“Uhh, no!” he sputtered, shaking his head profusely. “That’s not true!”
Cyrus gave him a knowing look. “Oh yeah? Then why did you fall forward like that?” He raised an eyebrow, challenging him.
Any possible explanation for his behavior completely left TJ’s mind. What the hell do I say? “Uh...I was just, um...” He looked down at the ground, giving up, as nothing could possibly make sense.
Suddenly, he felt a finger lift his chin before resting on his cheek. “Hey, it’s okay! Don’t be embarrassed!” He smiled softly at the boy in front of him. “Though, I do have to say, seeing you flustered makes you even cuter.”
At this, TJ’s face reddened, and his gaze dropped down once again before looking back to Cyrus.
Cyrus’ hand left his cheek, and TJ immediately missed the warmth and feeling there. “Hey,” Cyrus said, with a small smirk returning to his face. “You can still kiss me if you want.”
TJ gasped quietly, stunned at how forward Cyrus was in that moment. His gaze flickered down to Cyrus’ lips, an action that did not go unnoticed by the latter. Quickly, TJ reminded himself not to get ahead of himself and returned his eyes to the boy in front of him. Before he lost all of his courage, he bent down slightly and pressed his lips to Cyrus’ cheek. He held it there for only a few seconds before coming back to gage Cyrus’ reaction, whom was standing there, looking at TJ in a daze. Cyrus may have been more confident in his words and actions, but nothing could stop him from becoming flustered after receiving the affection of one TJ Kippen.
TJ looked at him nervously, before saying, “Um, was that okay?”
Cyrus looked up to him. “Yes!” he croaked. He nodded his head. “Yep.”
TJ breathed out in relief, worry replaced by a smile. “Oh, good. I was starting to get a little -“
Cyrus quickly pecked TJ’s cheek and ran in the other direction as he said, “See you tomorrow, Thelonious Jagger!”
TJ stood there, stunned, as he watched the boy he liked disappear into the distance.
It was Friday afternoon, during the time of Cyrus and TJ’s date in the park. They both sat upon the swings next to each other, holding the hot chocolate Cyrus had brought for them in separate thermoses and taking tentative sips from time to time. All bundled up with nerves and unsure of what to talk about, they sat in silence and stole glances at each other when the other wasn’t looking.
But during one of these glances, their eyes met and panicked. Breaking the tension, they both started laughing.
“I’m going to be honest,” Cyrus said, smiling. “I don’t really know what to talk about. I’ve never done this with someone I actually liked before.”
TJ raised his eyebrows. “Have you done it with someone you didn’t like?”
Cyrus looked away before looking back at TJ. “Yes.”
“Well, tell me about it.”
“Okay.” Cyrus looked unsure before shrugging his shoulders and continuing. “I used to have this girlfriend -“
TJ’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You had a girlfriend?”
Cyrus sighed. “Yeah, I did. That was part of the problem, as I am -“ he gestures between them “- very gay.”
TJ chuckled as Cyrus continued. “So I had a girlfriend named Iris, and we went on dates and stuff and we even kissed, but it just wasn’t me.”
TJ took in what he said and asked, “Is that how you knew you liked boys and not girls?”
Cyrus thought it over. “Yes and no. I already knew before, but this really just cemented it for me.”
Innocently, TJ asks, “How did you know before that?”
Cyrus looks down before meeting his gaze again, taking a deep breath. “I liked someone. I liked a boy.” He could see TJ thinking it over and wanting to say something else. “I can tell you want to know who.” He just smiled at TJ. Who could blame him? I’d want to know, too.
“Do I know them?”
“Yes.” Cyrus decided that he could trust TJ with this, in fact, he kind of wanted to tell him. There was something about him that made Cyrus feel like he could tell him anything. He took a deep breath before saying, “It was Jonah.”
TJ gasped quietly, taking in this information. “Really?”
Cyrus shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, really. That’s how I knew, but I’m long over him and all of that. I think it was essential to my growth and journey, so it’s not really painful to think about.”
TJ couldn’t help the smile on his face. “That’s a very Cyrus thing to say.”
He chuckled a bit and said, “I suppose so. What about you? Who was your gay awakening?”
Suddenly, the smile was gone from TJ’s face and replaced by a bit of shock. I was not expecting that. He thought. Without breaking eye contact, he said, “You.”
Now it was Cyrus’ turn to be shocked. His eyes went wide in shock and his mouth fell open. “Me? I was the reason you figured out you liked boys?” He asked, unbelieving.
TJ nodded his head. “Yeah. It took me a while to figure out. I never really liked girls, and then one day, I was just looking at you, and it hit me. I thought, “Huh, this is why.” And I haven’t stopped liking you since.”
Cyrus just looked at him in disbelief. A boy really, truly likes me. And not any boy. TJ. “Wow.”
“Wow,” he agreed. “And here we are now.”
Cyrus smiled softly. “Here we are now.” He inched his swing closer to TJ, who came closer, as well. They reached for each other’s hands and intertwined their fingers. They smiled softly and stared at one another.
On their own accord, TJ’s eyes flickered down to Cyrus’ lips and back up, meeting a wide eyed Cyrus. They moved closer to each other, stealing glances at each other’s lips, unsure of what to do.
Their breaths mingled in the cold air. Just as it seemed like their mouths would meet, the thermos of hot chocolate slipped from TJ’s hold and fell directly on his foot, causing him to reel back in shock. He quickly got up from the swing and picked up the thermos, holding it tight in his arms. Feeling embarrassed and not sure how to handle it, TJ panicked and said, “Um, I think I have to go home.”
“What?” Cyrus said, worry apparent on his face.
“Uh, I have to go home.” He started to back up. “I had a really good time Cy. I’ll see you later.” He quickly waved and turned the other way to run back home, leaving Cyrus alone and confused on the playground.
It was now Saturday night, and TJ was sitting in his living room, home alone, and watching some movie on TV. He hasn’t stopped thinking about running off on Cyrus the day before, leaving him alone like he did. But before he could contemplate it anymore, he heard his doorbell ring.
Sighing at the thought of having to talk to someone, TJ got up and walked to the door. What he saw when he opened it was not what he was expecting. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this.
“Cyrus?” He gasped, eyes practically bulging out of his head.
Cyrus shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “The one and only.”
“Um, what are you doing here?”
“Well, I was going to say that I needed my thermos back, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t using it as an excuse just to come see you.”
TJ stood there, shocked at Cyrus’ honesty. “Oh.” It took a moment of silence between them for TJ to come back to reality. “Right. Uh, here, come in and I’ll get it.”
Cyrus stepped inside, closing the door as TJ went inside his kitchen to get the thermos. As he came back, he said, “Here you go. Sorry I ran off with it yesterday.” A brush colored his cheeks at the embarrassing thought.
Cyrus looked at him with his eyebrow quirked. “I mean, thanks, but didn’t you hear the part about this just being an excuse to see you?”
TJ shifted back and forth on his feet nervously. “Yes...” he said quietly.
“I think we should talk about yesterday.”
TJ looked up at that. “Yesterday?”
Cyrus nodded assertively. “Yeah, yesterday. We left things...well, we just kinda left them.”
TJ nodded, accepting that it was all true. And all my fault.
“Well, how about we sit down?” TJ asked, trying to do something in his panic.
“That’s a start.”
They moved to sit on the couch, TJ careful not to be too close to Cyrus with all this weird tension between them.
Cyrus took a deep breath and exhaled before starting, “So, I was wondering -“
“I’ve never kissed anyone before!”
Both Cyrus and TJ gasped in shock at the suddenness of TJ’s exclamation, neither expecting it. Once he realized what he had said, TJ shrunk back into the cushions of the couch, feeling like he kept doing the wrong thing again and again.
He stole a glance over at Cyrus, who was - of course - looking at him very softly. “I’m sorry I did that yesterday, running off. I didn’t mean to, trust me. I think I just got really nervous. I didn’t want it to be bad and then...” he trailed off.
“And then?” Cyrus leaned closer, encouraging him to continue.
“I, um...I didn’t want you to stop liking me if it was bad.” He dropped his head, embarrassed to be confessing such a thing.
It was only when he heard Cyrus incredulously laughing beside him that he looked up, confused at his reaction.
“You think that I would stop liking you because of something like that?” Cyrus looked at him, eyebrows raised, a smile on his face. “TJ, if anything, I find it cute.”
TJ’s instantly grew redder. “Cute?”
Cyrus just kept smiling at him, nodding. “TJ, do you have any idea how much I like you?”
He was speechless; it was like all comprehensible thoughts completely left his head, leaving him a mumbling mess.
Cyrus just chuckled and looked at him fondly. “Of course you don’t. TJ, you’re one of the best people I know. If I’m being honest with myself, I probably fell for you the very first day when you helped me get that muffin in the cafeteria. I just didn’t know yet.”
“Really?” TJ asked, unbelieving, yet full of hope.
Cyrus’ small nod of reassurance was all that TJ needed to boost his confidence. He moved closer to Cyrus, careful not to be too close. Before he knew what he was doing, he placed a hand on Cyrus’ shoulder, causing the latter to gasp.
They stared at each other for a moment, butterflies fluttering rapidly, both acknowledging what was happening but too scared to attempt anything further. This was new territory for the both of them; two middle school boys with these now-explainable feelings for each other. They kept waiting for the ultimate demise of this new relationship, waiting for the other to say, “Yeah, I was just kidding; this has all been a big joke,” or “Sorry, I think I was wrong about this.” But none of that would come. Instead, all TJ managed to say was, “Your eyes are pretty.”
And all Cyrus managed to say in response was, “Oh, uh, thanks.”
They continued their staring contest, looking down at the other’s lips from time to time, unsure if the other would make the first move or if they should. A surge of confidence and impatience of waiting came over TJ, and before he knew it, he was leaning in towards Cyrus. His mouth lingered just inches from Cyrus’, giving himself one last opportunity to back out, until he thought, Why wouldn’t I want this? What am I afraid of? What am I waiting for?
That was all TJ needed to surge forward, connecting their lips. All the butterflies exploded, and suddenly, the idea of fireworks going off didn’t seem so cliche. The kiss was gentle and chaste, only lasting several seconds, but it was everything both boys could have wanted.
They pulled back and looked at each other fondly. TJ dropped his arm as Cyrus commented, “That was nice,” grinning wildly at TJ.
“Do you want to be my boyfriend?” TJ asked quickly, getting the words out before he could overthink himself anymore.
Cyrus’ smile grew even more than thought possible, nodding his head rapidly. “I would love that.” He leaned in quickly and pressed his lips to TJ for only a moment, but it still surprised his boyfriend.
“Wow,” TJ said, breathless. “I could get used to that.”
Cyrus giggled, “Well, you better.”
They sat there for another moment, with their fond looks they’ve become so accustomed to. “Hey, do you want to stay and watch this movie with me?” TJ asked, sporting a soft smile and sparkling eyes.
Sparking eyes that Cyrus most definitely fell for the minute he saw them. “For you and your pretty eyes, yeah, I guess I can stay.”
He cuddled into TJ’s side, resting his head on this shoulder. Both of their hearts were beating rapidly, causing that funny feeling in their chests that wouldn’t ever really go away.
TJ rested his head upon Cyrus’, and the two sat there, cuddled together and never wanting to move.
It was Monday morning, and Cyrus and Buffy were standing at their lockers, talking as usual and sharing stories of their weekend.
“TJ did what now?!”