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“Come on, Goodman.”
Lifting a finger, Cyrus glared, partially from how dry his eyes felt but mainly because of the constant pestering. “Don’t Goodman me.”
“Is that any way to talk to your loving roommate?”
Cyrus pushed some air from his nose. “Loving, huh? Would a loving roommate promote going to a college party off campus instead of writing my paper?”
Reed pouted, leaning back in his chair and slinging an arm over the top of his chair. “Oh come on. You know you are finished with that thing. You’d never wait until the last minute to write a paper considering what happened last time.”
A shudder moved through Cyrus as he remembered exactly what had happened, nose scrunching. “We don’t talk about that. The point is that I can’t just abandon my work to go with you to some random party.”
A straw wrapper hit Cyrus in the face as he turned, his roommate smirking with a straw between his parted lips. If Cyrus hadn’t met Andi when he was a freshman, he might have been saved from the added stress and exhaustion he was beginning to feel. After four cups of coffee and a coffee-chocolate candy bar that didn’t work, he was about ready to scream and Reed wasn’t helping .
“Just for one hour, Cyrus. Then I’ll never bother you again!”
Cyrus sighed, sitting straighter in his chair and looking at Reed with a bored expression. Reed took the opportunity and began to ramble, almost so fast that Cyrus didn’t catch what he was saying.
“There is someone I want to meet there, but Andi won’t introduce her to me because she says I am a bad influence or something.”
Cyrus couldn’t help but smile a bit as he turned his attention back to his laptop screen. “However did she ever get that idea.”
With a sarcastic laugh, Reed’s expression became serious. He closed Cyrus’s laptop, just barely missing said student’s fingers as Cyrus yanked them out of the way.
“Dude!”
“Please just help me out?” Reed said, looking genuine for the first time since their conversation began. “I will never ask you for anything again if you help me with this one thing. I’ll even sweeten the pot and owe you one.”
Cyrus, observing the other’s expression, groaned and leaned back in his chair. He stared at the ceiling, Reed’s gaze so intense that a hole might appear in the sweater Cyrus wore any moment. It wasn’t that Cyrus didn’t want to help, but parties were never his thing. Especially not without Jonah. Andi was great, but she was such a social butterfly thanks to Amber that Cyrus probably wouldn’t be able to see her for more than a moment.
If Reed was this serious, though…then maybe he was smitten for whoever it was Andi was keeping from him.
And if Cyrus knew anything, it was that Reed, despite some issues in the past, was not a bad person.
Just a product of his environment which had long since changed.
With a resigned sigh, he nodded. He lifted a finger immediately after, having a condition that had been left unspoken. “If I go, I want to be back by midnight and I refuse to go to an after-party. I don’t drink and you better have some type of DD if you’re going to drink because I refuse.”
“Done!” Reed said immediately, standing and pulling Cyrus in to kiss him on the cheek. Grimacing, Cyrus shoved him off and wiped his cheek of slobber.
“Consider it done. It’ll be like sleeping beauty!”
Cyrus paused, squinting as he leaned in. “Cinderella?” he corrected cautiously as Reed grinned.
“Her too!”
Cyrus should have realized his conditions were destined to go down the drain the moment they left his lips.
Reed was trashed and had seemingly forgotten all about the girl that was his reason for showing up and Cyrus was being talked up by way too many people for his liking. Usually, he might have found it flattering, however not when they were drunk and tripping their own feet. At that state of drunkenness, they probably would have flocked to anything that had a pulse and Cyrus was sure wishing he didn’t at this point.
“Oh, hey~”
Letting out a deep breath, Cyrus turned and smiled as politely as he could. “Not now, number 12,” he warned, turning to walk off.
“C’mon, you haven’t even given me a chance yet!” the person slurred as they grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. “You new? I haven’t seen a face like yours around he-”
Cyrus pulled away, proceeding to pull the person into him accidentally. The two hit the wall with a loud thump, Cyrus wincing at the ache in his shoulder. The pain was short-lived, Cyrus too focused on the arm wrapped around him and the smell of alcohol coming from his ‘suitor’. The moment he felt something wet against his neck, he shoved the person hard, feeling a chill down his spine.
Leaving the stranger laughing hysterically on the ground, Cyrus stalked down the hall and tried his best to calm his breathing.
His hands grasped at doors aimlessly, some locked and some open but occupied with people either chatting or otherwise.
The moment he found a door without noise, he entered and slammed it shut. He rested his head against the back of it, sliding down and raising his hands to pull at his hair.
‘Relax, relax,’ he thought to himself, lips in a frown. He hated how his cheeks burned, sweat having gone cold as his hands shook. He began to curse Reed under his breath, dropping his hands from his hair as he sighed.
He was fine, he was alone, and he had gotten out.
He was going to kill Reed, though.
“Do you usually come into people’s rooms without permission?”
Cyrus yelped as he pressed himself further against the door, staring around until his eyes landed on a shirtless male, light hair wet and towels around his waist and neck. Cyrus was sure he looked pathetic, covered in alcohol, and messy from having to shove people off all night. It wasn’t the ideal situation considering how squeaky clean the new stranger looked.
“Ah,” The stranger said, looking less than pleased at Cyrus. “Drunk, huh? Get out.”
“What? I’m not drunk!” Cyrus defended, crossing his arms. “I hate this, I was just looking for a quiet place.”
“And that place is someone’s room?”
“Oh please, like this is your….” Cyrus looked around once the lights flickering on, his eyes squinting as he adjusted. The male had a remote in his hand, arrogant smirk making Cyrus’s stomach stir uncomfortably. “ Your room….?” he squeaked, the stranger tossing the remote onto his bed.
“My house, friend’s party,” The other said, pointing to the family photos along the walls. There were medals, trophies, certificates….
“Are you some type of genius?” Cyrus muttered in slight awe, forgetting his anger to walk around the room. The stranger’s smirk slipped into something more awkward. Cyrus wondered if he had ever had this happen before, but considering how he looked like he didn’t know what to do or say, he scratched that idea instantly.
“Those are mainly for sports.”
Cyrus hummed. “Ah. So you’re dumb.”
The stranger turned red in the face. “Excuse me?”
Cyrus turned, hands behind his back and a large grin on his lips. “I’m kidding! My friends and I have a weird...uh, banter. Which you most likely don’t care about at all so this entire explanation is null and void” he said, lowering his voice towards the end of his sentence and turning around to look at the name on the awards. “Kippen?”
“T.J is fine,” T.J insisted, shifting awkwardly. Cyrus would have teased him about it if not for the fact that it was then he realized that T.J was still in just a towel. He had probably been on his way to getting dressed when Cyrus...
“Sorry!” Cyrus gasped. “I forgot that you weren’t dressed and I will just, uh, leave so you can—”
“You can...go shower…” T.J offered, ruffling his hair awkwardly. Blinking, Cyrus extended his neck forward as if having misheard him.
“Excuse me?”
T.J moved to what Cyrus assumed was a closet and pulled out a shirt, slipping it on. “You looked freaked and since you’re…” he said, motioning to the mess that was his outfit. “I’ll let you borrow something...then you can tell me who Reed is and why he is so stupid?”
Cyrus flushed, not realizing that T.J had been here when he was cursing his friend to hell and back. A part of him knew he should just reject the offer and avoid everyone until Reed was sober enough to at least call for a ride home, but what came out instead made his mind scream.
“Okay.”
Sitting on a balcony with a total stranger after the fastest shower of his life made Cyrus feel like he was in some cheesy movie. He was getting major John Hughes vibes. It was a hell of a lot better than being stuck at a party with handsy drunks. Wearing clothes that smelled like the stranger didn’t help the vibes either...not that Cyrus was complaining. Anything was welcome as long as it didn’t reek of alcohol.
“So…”
Cyrus awkwardly laughed and nodded his head slowly. “So…,” he repeated, allowing the air to ruffle his damp hair. “Sorry,” he decided to begin, remembering how he had been too on edge to realize he had been rude earlier. “Some random guy had been a little too touchy and I snapped at him, which led to me snapping at you.”
T.J shrugged, looking over and frowning. “How’d you get rid of him?”
Cyrus avoided his gaze, smiling a tiny bit. “I shoved him off and might have given him a few choice words,” he admitted sheepishly. His smile faltered a bit when he remembered how fast his heart had been pounding, clearing his throat and hugging his knees to his chest.
“Do you wanna talk about it, or…?”
Cyrus shook his head. “Anyway, who is that friend you were talking about?” he said in an attempt to change the subject.
“Friend?” T.J questioned, taking a moment before realizing what the other was talking about. “Oh, his name is Marty. He’s cool. We’re on the same basketball team and he wanted to throw this party so he could talk to some girl he liked.”
“I think that’s sweet,” Cyrus assured with a smile. “Looks like you do have a nice side to you.”
“Was there something that made you question that?”
“Nearly kicking me out because you thought I was drunk…?”
T.J flushed a bit, clearing his throat. “Would you want a random drunk guy in your room?” he challenged, Cyrus shaking his head.
“If I had all this going for me, I wouldn’t want a drunk anyone around me,” Cyrus agreed, with a tilt of his head.
Relaxing, T.J continued. “If anyone else messes with you tonight...let me know. We’ll figure something out, Mr. Popular.”
Laughing at the name, Cyrus shoved the other gently. “Not the kind of popularity anyone would want to have, trust me,” he said as he leaned back against the railing and stared at the sky. “Though it led me here, so I guess this is okay.”
“Is it really?”
Cyrus’s eyes fell back onto T.J, the other shifting where he sat. It was endearing to see him so fussy, but he also wasn’t sure why he was feeling that way. If anything, Cyrus was the nervous one of them both.
“It’s better than anything else that could have happened,” Cyrus said honestly, scooting a bit closer. “Promise.”
Instantly breaking into a slight smile, T.J decided to bring up the sports he did, Cyrus shocked he wasn’t into the best sport aka swimming. T.J preferred to keep his feet on land, but Cyrus loved water far too much to never swim. This happened with a lot of their interests: Cyrus liked music while T.J was more a movie person. This led to recommendations on both parts and T.J mentioning how they should watch a movie together sometimes.
Cyrus was almost sure it was an attempt at flirting, T.J offering up a smirk and finishing it with a “just to make sure you actually watch it.”
T.J preferred spicy while, not to many people’s surprise, Cyrus couldn’t handle spice that well at all. Cyrus liked Pepsi and T.J was a coke advocate.
It was amazing how much they didn’t have in common, but it made for an interesting conversation that only ended when T.J pulled Cyrus back inside to avoid getting him sick.
“If your immune system is that bad, we shouldn’t have been out there in the first place!”
T.J offered to get Cyrus’s clothes cleaned, but Cyrus refused.
“Just toss it. The smell makes me sick to my stomach.”
“Not a drinker?” T.J asked, placing the clothes into a bag and putting it in the far off corner for now.
Cyrus shook his head. “It isn’t a great thing to do unless with friends. I also like having my mind as clear as possible.”
“So Mr. Popular is going to act like he didn’t tell me he was always thinking random thoughts?” T.J asked as Cyrus laughed— genuinely laughed—and rolled his eyes.
T.J’s eyes lit up at the act, Cyrus chewing on his lower lip.
What could he say, he was a sucker for pretty eyes.
“It’s nice. Finding the first thing we agree on tonight,” T.J continued as Cyrus hummed, realizing that it was the first thing that they both held the same view on. The conversation stopped when the sound of the door opening startled them both, revealing a male whose hair kind of reminded Cyrus of T.J’s own.
“Hey, I know you don’t like strangers in the house bu—oh, hello there.”
Cyrus nodded his head once in greeting, looking over at T.J awkwardly. Said male stepped in front of him and crossed his arms to remind the stranger to finish speaking.
“I have friends staying since they drank and have no dd. That alright?”
“As long as they stay with you, it’s fine, Marty.”
Marty, right, T.J had mentioned that name earlier.
This Marty looked relieved at the decision, about to speak when someone slammed into him, wrapping their arms around his neck. Cyrus froze at the person, feeling the irritation from earlier fill his gut.
“You…” Cyrus started, catching everyone’s attention. Reed, obviously not noticing the level of anger in Cyrus’s voice, walked towards him and hugged him close. Cyrus could feel himself wanting to gag at how putrid Reed smelled: no doubt having spilled some kind of harder liquor on his clothing. It was almost dizzying, Cyrus backing up a step.
“Cyrus~! Thanks so much for coming and…” Reed started, adding emphasis on every other syllable. Cyrus patted him on the back and tried to get away, only resulting in Reed launching himself at him and causing them to fall over.
Arching at the pain he felt move from his shoulder to his back, T.J and Marty were on them in an instant. Marty pulled Reed off him while T.J helped him up, frowning and eyeing his shoulder with an unreadable expression.
“So you’re Cyrus, huh? Reed hasn’t stopped talking about you all night.”
“He’ll be lucky to talk at all once I’m through with him,”’ Cyrus grumbled, Marty laughing nervously for his friend’s sake. “But I guess I’ll have to do that tomorrow since we have no DD and he’s gone in the brain.”
Marty frowned. “If needed I could always drive you two back in an hour or so?”
Cyrus pulled out his phone to see the time: 2 am. It was a half-hour to the campus which meant an hour for Marty there and back. That, and…
“Marty, do you love your car?”
Unsure what the question had to do with anything, Marty nodded. Cyrus rolled his shoulder, smiling and shaking his head.
“Then don’t put a drunk Reed into it unless you want some lovely floor decoration.”
Marty tensed, looking at T.J. who shrugged.
“I dunno, man. I’d listen to him if I were you. He does live with the guy.”
Marty looked down, Reed grinning at him while his eyes wandered the ceiling as if it were moving. With a nod, Marty let out a courtesy laugh.
“Noted. Thanks for the warning. Cyrus, right?”
Cyrus held out a hand. “Yeah. Nice to meet you, Marty.”
Cyrus looked around the room, walking around and finding a place by the window to sit. He stared out of it, glad that he was able to see the house without the excessive amount of people around. The backyard was lovely, minus the litter that Cyrus was sure would be a pain to clean in the morning. Even the room he was staying in was too large for one person, and yet home-like all the same. Still, even with how warm it was, It felt odd accepting such hospitality from someone he had met only a mere few hours ago. Sure, he enjoyed T.J’s company despite their rocky start, but this was just too nice.
What would he need to do to repay all this?
“Didn’t expect you to still be up. Even Marty is passed out now.”
Cyrus nearly jumped, turning to see T.J. standing at the doorway with his arms crossed. He was smiling, another thing Cyrus noticed was really nice, and looking around the room.
“Everything alright in here?”
“Yeah,” Cyrus said, standing and clearing his throat. “I just…are you sure it’s alright to be in here? I can just share a room with Reed an—”
T.J chuckled, cutting off the beginnings of his rambling. Weirdly enough, it didn’t feel like T.J was laughing at him, but rather at how he was reacting to his kindness.
As if this was something small and not at all a big deal.
“I mean if you are comfortable with Reed more than this room, I won’t stop you. I just suggested this room since it is away from all the alcohol-drenched people. The smell might be a bit overbearing for someone who hates the small amount that was on his clothes,” T.J teased.
Cyrus could feel his cheeks go red, clearing his throat. “I...well, as true as that is, I feel like this room all to myself isn’t fair to your friends.”
“Oh please, they never use this room because they see it as cramped,” T.J assured, Cyrus pushing air from his nose in disbelief and giving the room a once over again. It was hard to believe anyone could consider this a small room considering it had a full bath and balcony. Sure, it was smaller than T.J’s room, but that wasn’t saying much since that room was practically an apartment itself.
“Are you sure?”
T.J nodded. “Besides, you are using this room,” he reminded as Cyrus blinked.
“And?” Cyrus said, feeling as if he were missing something. He could easily leave the room if another friend of T.J’s needed it.
“And,” T.J continued, lips twitching as if he were hiding a smile. “You are a friend, so it balances. New or not, you are still a friend. I also wouldn’t kick you out when we have so much space.”
It felt as if he had short-circuited, Cyrus’s lips parting and closing for a few seconds as he collected his thoughts. His shock must have looked like something else because T.J pushed off the doorway. His smile fell, shifting to concern.
“Unless you don’t want to be friends? I might have jumped the gun a bit on that—”
“I do!” Cyrus spit out, shocking T.J this time into a silence. Swallowing hard, Cyrus couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous this situation was. “I just…I’ve never had someone approach me to be my friend before,” he admitted, feeling lame but not one to lie. “I usually ask other people if we can be friends, so for you to want me around…it makes me happy, I guess?”
T.J watched him closely, his smile growing to the point Cyrus was sure it would be painful if he sustained it for a long time.
“I’m happy too, even if you are a movie noob.”
Shock washed over Cyrus’s features, the smile on his lips growing without permission. “Well then, Kippen,” he started, moving to the bed and patting the other side of it once he settled under the covers. “We are both awake. Why not have a movie night?”
T.J squinted. “It’s 3 am. Is that a good idea?”
“You got something better to do?” Cyrus asked, arms crossed and eyes flickering playfully.
The two stared at each other, ending when T.J rolled his eyes and moved around the bed to take his rightful place.
“You asked for it, Mr. Popular. If you fall asleep, I’ll never forgive you.”
Cyrus laughed, scanning his new friend and admiring how earlier that morning, he wouldn’t have even thought meeting someone like T.J was possible. He was pulled from his thoughts when T.J turned to look at him: remote in hand and a soft smile on his lips. It was then that Cyrus realized he hadn’t responded, sitting up and gently shoving the taller male.
“Don’t worry about me, the amount of caffeine I had today is sure to keep me up until at least 7 am.”
“Oh?” T.J questioned, “Fancy a bet, then? Winner gets to pick breakfast?”
It sounded nice, eating with someone after so long, Cyrus feeling determination surge through him. He held out a hand, T.J taking it without hesitation.
“You are on, Kippen. But just know that I am a Breakfast snob.”
“Well well, another thing we have in common, then,” T.J said with a wink, pulling his hand away to pick the movie.
Cyrus bit his lower lip, pretending that his hand wasn’t still burning even after T.J pulled away.
‘Friends’, Cyrus repeated in his thoughts, forcing himself to look away from T.J and at the screen.
Even then, he couldn’t entirely concentrate on the words or pictures.