"He asked me out! Can you believe that? Jonah Beck asked me out!"

"That's amazing, Andi! I'm so happy for you!"

It truly was a fantastic feat. Jonah Beck was the most popular boy in their grade and, on top of that, he was one of the nicest people you could ever come across. Jonah Beck was the type of guy that would jump at the chance to help you if you needed him without a second thought. He was an extremely caring individual.

Cyrus remembered the first time he and his two best friends had met Jonah Beck. They were walking through the halls on their first day of sixth grade in their new middle school and all three of them were terrified. Buffy less so than he and Andi but terrified, nevertheless.

The eighth graders had taken to bullying the fresh meat mercilessly and the trio hung their heads to avoid eye contact that could result in potential harassment.

Yet, of course, some Neanderthal had to stroll past Cyrus and smack the stack of books out of his hands.

"Damn it." He cursed, under his breath, bending down to pick up the scattered books and papers whilst trying to pretend he couldn't hear the sniggers.

That was the first time he ever heard the kind voice of Jonah Beck;

"You need any help, there?"

Cyrus looked up from the ground and into the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

"Um i-it's okay, I've got it…" He mumbled, stumbling on his words

Then he gave a laugh. Not one like the others had when Cyrus's books had been knocked from his hands. This kid's laugh sweet and genuine. And he wasn't laughing at him; he was laughing with him.

Cyrus gave a nervous laugh in response that was so awkward he could have kicked himself.

But the boy didn't say anything. He just gave a warm smile and began picking up the rest of Cyrus's scattered belongings. Cyrus had told him didn't have to. He hadn't even dropped that much stuff. But the boy picked up everything and gave a quick scan of the floor to make sure nothing else had escaped him.

He stood up and dusted off his hands on his jeans.

"T-thanks." Cyrus said, feeling slightly in a daze

"No problem." Said the Boy, offering him another totally disarming smile, "Eighth graders can be real jerks, huh?"

"I know, right?" Said Andi, before Cyrus had a chance to respond, "I'm scared to even make eye contact."

And then all of a sudden the boy's attention had shifted from Cyrus onto his friend. And Cyrus saw the boy's eyes twinkle and his face flush a little pinker. Subtle changes that Andi didn't notice.

But Cyrus sure did.

And then he felt a strange sinking feeling in the pit of stomach. He hadn't realised how tingly he had felt when the boy was talking to him until his focus shifted to Andi and all of a sudden it was gone.

And this awful, awful sinking feeling had replaced it.

"I'm Jonah, by the way." Said the blue-eyed boy, holding his hand out to Andi, "Jonah Beck."

"Nice to meet you, Jonah, Jonah Beck." Said Andi, with a dreamy look in her eyes, "I'm Andi, Andi Mack."

Jonah laughed again and shook his head as the bell rang for first period.

"See you around, Andi Mack." Jonah called, as he went on his way to class

See you around, Andi Mack.

And then his two friends turned to each other and squealed before running off to class themselves, assuming he was following behind.

But Cyrus felt as if his feet were melted to the floor, his eyes locked on Jonah Beck's disappearing figure.

"I'm Cyrus, by the way." He whispered, sadly, under his breath

It didn't take long for Cyrus to slowly start to understand that his feelings for Jonah were entirely new. They were something so strange and bubbly, he couldn't quite figure them out for a long time. It was all so odd.

Like how his palms would start to sweat whenever Jonah would walk their way.

Or the tingling in his fingertips whenever Jonah said his name.

Or the fluttery warm feeling in his stomach whenever Jonah smiled.

Or how his face would start to feel hot whenever Jonah spoke to him.

Or how he melted from the inside out whenever Jonah placed a friendly hand on his shoulder.

Or the awful awful sinking feeling whenever Jonah looked at Andi the way he did.

These feelings were new. And they were strange. And Cyrus didn't quite know what to make of them at first. But slowly, as time went on and the more he experienced them, the realisation dawned on him.

Cyrus Goodman was falling in love with Jonah Beck.

And that was perhaps the saddest conclusion Cyrus could ever come to.

Because Jonah Beck would never fall in love with Cyrus Goodman.

And Cyrus knew that all too well.

And try as he might, Cyrus couldn't stop himself from loving Jonah. He was just so pretty and charming and funny and friendly and nice and kind and just so deeply and profoundly good.

How could one not fall in love with Jonah Beck?

Buffy knew.

Cyrus never told her, or anyone for that matter, but Buffy knew.

And they never spoke about it. Buffy never brought it up or pressured him to admit it.

But whenever Jonah would walk away with Andi, Buffy would give his hand a squeeze. A tight, sympathetic squeeze that was just enough let him know that she knew.

And she was okay with it.

And she was there for him if he needed her.

What would Cyrus Goodman do without Buffy Driscoll?

Andi didn't notice like Buffy did. And Cyrus never told her. He never told anyone. He would just nod along and smile and fake excitement whenever she would gush about her latest development with the blue-eyed boy. And the whole time, he was dying inside.

He loved Andi.

Truly, he did.

But he envied her more than she would ever know. Because she had the one thing that Cyrus wanted most and could never have, even if she didn't know it.

Jonah Beck. Right in the palm of her hand.

So Cyrus became accustomed to forcing smiles and faking excitement meanwhile he felt as if he might break in two with all the pain that had been slowly building up inside of him.

But a tiny bit of hope remained in Cyrus's heart.

The tiniest glimmer that maybe one day Jonah would look into his eyes, the way Cyrus had into his, and suddenly he'd realise that it had been Cyrus all along.

That remaining hope died when his elated friend came rushing into the diner to tell him the news.

"He asked me out! Can you believe that? Jonah Beck asked me out!"

And then the awful sinking started. Only this time it hurt the worst it ever had.

Cyrus forced the tears to stay in their ducts and the most supportive and excited smile he could muster.

And then Cyrus Goodman lied.

"That's amazing, Andi! I'm so happy for you!"

Jonah Beck could never love Cyrus Goodman.

Boys like Jonah Beck could never love boys like Cyrus Goodman.

Because, as far as Cyrus could see it;

Boys like him were destined to sink.


So I caught the premier of this show last night and this little oneshot sort of popped into my head as soon as I saw the way Cyrus looked at Jonah. And then I read that apparently Cyrus will eventually come out as gay this season which makes me so so happy. I love this show so much and I'm so excited to finally see actual main cast LGBTQ+ representation on Disney!

I hoped you liked the story! Leave a review and let me know what you think!

Luna

xxx