Request by Anonymous: For tyrus prompts: Cyrus gets a bunch of chocolate chocolate chip muffins from TJ.
So sorry for the long wait! I'm sorry that your request isn't a ~huge~ part of this story, and that is only because I've seen this prompt idea a lot and I wanted to make it differ from theirs. Thank you so much for this prompt though! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
"Come on!" Andi exclaimed, hurriedly grabbing random items off of The Fringe's variously stocked shelves. She snatched up a trio of feather boas and quickly inspected them before stuffing them into her basket. She didn't have time to be picky. "Remind me to never throw an impromptu surprise party ever again."
"Andi, relax!" Cyrus insisted. "Your last party was killer!" Andi, Cyrus, and Buffy were all shopping for props and decorations for Andi's spontaneously planned party, but it wasn't just any party. It was a surprise party! For Jonah Beck! Cyrus supposed that she was so worked up about it because her and Jonah were boyfriend and girlfriend now, but, then again, Andi was a perfectionist.
"My last party was also about a year ago," she reminded him, squinting her eyes in concentration as she observed a new shipment of sunglasses. Andi shrugged, tossing them into her basket. They would do.
"But it was still great!" Cyrus cheerfully commented.
Andi scanned a stack of wigs as she answered, "I'm just glad I have Cece and Pops's permission this time."
Buffy eyed the cans of silly string on the other side of the room during her friends' exchange, and she picked up a few cans, grinning wickedly. "I think we definitely need some of these."
Andi shook her head immediately. "No! We cannot spray Jonah with that! It's his birthday!"
Buffy shook the bottle and held it up, a mischievous glint in her eye. "How about I invite Amber, and we all take turns spraying her instead?"
"No!" Andi and Cyrus outburst. They exchanged a glance; they knew how Buffy could get when she had a crazy idea.
"It's fine!" Andi insisted. "We're over it." She turned to Cyrus. "Besides, Cyrus is officially in charge of inviting people," she informed. She could hardly imagine who Buffy would invite. Probably people who were on 'a real sports team' as she always put it.
Cyrus grinned widely at the honor. "Glad to be of service!" he said happily.
Buffy chucked half a dozen cans of the substance into Andi's basket anyway. "We're not over anything," she corrected. "But we can just get them for fun then."
"Fine," Andi relented. She groaned when she checked the clock on The Fringe's heavily ornamented wall. 4:36 P.M. "We better hurry up, though. We only have two hours until the party starts, and we still have to decorate Cece and Pop's house and get ready!"
"Will do," Cyrus told her. "And, just for the record, when you guys throw me a surprise party, I would want you to have been planning it for months."
Buffy and Andi groaned at their friend. How could they possibly throw him a surprise when he was constantly asking?
Cyrus scurried around the park, desperately trying to find the last person on the invite list that he had meticulously created for tonight. He has to be around here somewhere, Cyrus assured himself.
Cyrus had already been to the gym and the track field and the park where most of Jonah's friends hung out after school. But where could T.J. be? He had checked the swings at least three times, and he had even checked the rest of the playground equipment. Still, there was no basketball player of the sort in sight.
After nearly colliding his shin into a nearby park bench, Cyrus sighed and sat down on the sturdy wooden seat. He was about to give up until he felt a presence settle down next to him.
When Cyrus lifted his head up and glanced at the person beside him, he sighed in relief. Finally, he had found him!
"Hey, T.J.!" he greeted,
"Hey," T.J. greeted back. "You looking for someone?" he asked, gesturing to the list Cyrus was clutching.
"Actually, yes," Cyrus informed. "I was looking for you."
It was hard to miss the grin that grew on T.J.'s face. "Oh, really?" Cyrus felt butterflies arise in his stomach at the boy's smile, and he tried to shake them away. Why was T.J. making him feel so weird? He hadn't felt this way since he had met Jonah…
Cyrus shook the thoughts from his mind. It was probably nothing.
"Yes, really," Cyrus answered with a smile. "I wanted to invite you to the surprise birthday party we're throwing for Jonah tonight."
T.J. raised an eyebrow in question. Him and Jonah hadn't really talked since the incident at Cyrus's Bash-Mitzvah, and he wasn't exactly sure if he was good enough friends with the Frisbee player to come to his birthday party. "Why me?" he asked curiously.
"I kinda added you myself," Cyrus admitted sheepishly. "But Jonah likes you too," he added, assuring the basketball player. It was true. When Buffy had complained about T.J. after his bar-mitzvah a couple weeks ago, Jonah had actually defended the boy. Cyrus had wondered when the two boys had talked, but he just shrugged it off. He assumed that all the popular kids in their school knew each other some way or another, whether they were Frisbee players or captains of the basketball team.
"Cool. I'll be there," T.J. said, beaming.
The butterflies in Cyrus's stomach were definitely going crazy now. "I'll text you the details," Cyrus told him.
He began to walk away, but before he could get too far, T.J. sprinted and skidded to a stop in front of him. "Wait!" T.J. said, stopping Cyrus in his tracks. "I don't have your number," the basketball player said, scratching the back of his neck.
Cyrus's mind blanked for a second as he stared at the boy in front of him. T.J. has very nice eyes, he noted. Sometimes they look blue, or green, but today they look like hazel…
"Cyrus?" T.J. said questioningly. Cyrus shook himself out of his daze. What just happened?
"Sorry, can you repeat that?" Cyrus asked, embarrassed. He nearly kicked himself. Why am I acting so weird? he wondered in bewilderment. Well, weirder than normal.
"I don't have your number," T.J. repeated.
Oh. Had he really never given him his contact information? "Oh, right," Cyrus said, pulling out his cell. The two exchanged smartphones, both of them having pulled up the contacts' app on the screen for the other. Cyrus added his number to T.J.'s phone, making the contact name Underdog :). He really liked that T.J. had given him a nickname that actually meant something (it was something special they shared), and he wanted to make sure that T.J. was reminded of that day in the park every time he texted him. "Here you go," Cyrus said, handing back T.J.'s phone with a smile. T.J. finished typing on Cyrus's cell, and he did the same.
"Underdog. I like it," T.J. told him, nodding as he beamed.
Cyrus glanced at the contact name T.J. had put in for himself. "Not-So-Scary Basketball Guy," he read off his screen. Cyrus looked up at the boy and smiled; they both had had the same idea.
The boy grinned in return. "You better use that," T.J. told him, referring to his number. Cyrus felt his cheeks get hot. T.J. would be crazy if he thought I wouldn't use it, Cyrus thought to himself.
"You bet I will," he promised. "I'll see you later," Cyrus added with a smile. Although he found a part of himself wanting to spend more time with the boy, Cyrus knew that he still had to help Andi and Buffy set up the decorations and get ready himself (a long and very time-consuming process), so he waved one last time before walking away. Once he was safely out of any trees' vicinity, he ticked away the final name on the invite list and pumped his fist once. Mission accomplished.
It wasn't even an hour later that Cyrus got a message from the newest contact on his phone.
What should I bring? -Not-So-Scary Basketball Guy
Cyrus smiled down at his phone. Maybe chivalry wasn't dead. Here T.J. was, offering to bring something to the party without being asked to.
Shall I run you through the food groups for the evening and let you decide? We have your average party snacks, desserts, baby taters… -Underdog :)
Actually, just bring whatever. I think we have enough of everything. -Underdog :)
Okay, I've got something in mind. -Not-So-Scary Basketball Guy
Cyrus's eyebrows furrowed together. What could T.J. possibly be bringing to the party?
His curiosity got the best of him: What are you bringing? -Underdog :)
You'll have to wait and see ;) -Not-So-Scary Basketball Guy
Cyrus felt all the blood rush to his cheeks at the winky face T.J. sent. And then suddenly it hit him. He liked T.J..
His phone buzzed with another message: What's the address? -Not-So-Scary Basketball Guy
Cyrus's heart skipped a beat at the text, and he began to panic. His fingers fumbled as he typed out Andi's grandparents' address, sending it off with his sudden realization still prominent in his mind. "I. Like. T.J.," he said aloud. How had he never known?
Another ding. Okay. See you later, Underdog. -Not-So-Scary Basketball Guy.
Cyrus felt his heartbeat hammering loudly in his ears at the message. See you. -Underdog :). This party was going to be an interesting one, that's for sure.
By 7 o'clock, Andi's grandparents' house was filled to the brim with clusters of kids from school, most of them being players on the Frisbee team. The Good Hair Crew had to admit, it was a fun party. Fortunately for them, Jonah seemed to be having a great time, which was the most important thing
"What's going on, Cy-Guy?" Jonah called out, struggling to be heard over the loud music.
"Nothin' much, Jo Lama Jama!" Cyrus said, giving his long sought-after crush a fist bump.
When they retracted their hands, Jonah gave him his signature dazzling grin, but for some reason it seemed to have less of an effect on Cyrus than usual. "Thanks for the party, man!"
Cyrus smiled back. "It was my pleasure, Jonah, really," he insisted happily.
Jonah patted him on the shoulder, but the butterflies that usually occupied his stomach when Jonah touched him were absent. "Thanks again. I'll catch you later?"
Cyrus drew his eyebrows together in confusion as his mind whirled. What happened to the feelings he usually felt for Jonah? Where had they gone? "Yeah, I'll see you later, Jonah." Jonah didn't seem to notice his puzzled expression (oblivious as always, Cyrus supposed) and Cyrus watched as the boy ventured off to the stairway to converse with his friend Natalie.
Cyrus frowned when he didn't feel the normal tug of jealousy at the pit of his stomach when he saw Jonah talking to a girl. Just a couple weeks ago he had sworn that he was in love with Jonah, and now he didn't feel even the slightest bit of infatuation that he had always held in his heart for the Frisbee player. He still liked the boy of course; it just felt like his unrelenting adoration had shifted into something else, something Cyrus couldn't entirely label. A part of him started to wonder if he actually liked Jonah as a friend…
Cyrus shook his head at the thought. Silly, he told himself. Feelings can't just vanish into thin air like that. Could they?
Before Cyrus could give the idea much more thought, he felt a tap on the back of his shoulder, and he whirled around at the action.
"T.J.!" he exclaimed. The basketball player had caught him off guard, but Cyrus was glad that he was in his presence anyway. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Thanks, Underdog," T.J. greeted with a smile, seeming to be enjoying the festivities surrounding them. "Nice party."
"Thanks!" Cyrus said. As Bex, the DJ for the evening, turned up the catchy pop music up at the request of a party-goer, Cyrus stepped closer to T.J. to be heard properly. "So, I'm dying to know. What did you bring?"
T.J. grinned even wider, and he glanced momentarily at the multitudes of people around them before snatching Cyrus's hand. "Come on, I'll show you."
Cyrus wasn't sure if it was the energetic atmosphere around him or the fact that T.J. was tightly gripping onto his hand, but whatever it was was causing his heart to race. He only hoped that T.J. couldn't feel his pulse through his fingertips because it sure felt like it was thumping loudly throughout every atom in his body.
T.J. led Cyrus to the impressive banquet table that him, Andi, and Buffy had set up earlier in preparation for the party. However, unbeknownst to Cyrus, a new addition had been made to the now overflowing table of food.
"Is that what I think it is?" Cyrus asked, his eyes wide.
"Yep," T.J. said, clearly proud of himself. Cyrus let go of T.J.'s hand and picked one up incredulously, almost as if he was afraid that it would disappear before his eyes.
"Chocolate chocolate-chip muffins!" he exclaimed, taking a bite of one. He beamed when the sweet flavor hit his tongue; there was no greater food in the world besides these muffins. Well, them and baby taters.
"I thought you might like it," T.J. said, amused at the boy's reaction.
"How did you even get these?" Cyrus asked, swallowing his mouthful of muffin. He thought that they only served them in the cafeteria!
"The school actually buys them in bulk from a bakery a couple blocks away. I'm surprised you didn't know that," he remarked lightly.
Cyrus shook his head; if he had known, he never would've entered the daily chaos that was ensued in the early morning breakfast line to acquire one. "Trust me, if I would have, I never would've needed your help to get one in the first place!" he exclaimed. "I would've just bought my own."
T.J. laughed before his face grew somber again. "I am kinda glad that you didn't know."
Cyrus felt his stomach churn at his expression. "Why?" he forced himself to ask.
T.J. took a step closer, which left Cyrus with just enough room to breathe. "I don't know, but you would probably still think I was a huge jerk if I hadn't helped you get that muffin."
Cyrus's breath caught in his throat. "I could never think that," he said sincerely, barely managing to get his words out.
T.J. beamed, and he opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the sudden wave of silly spray shooting towards their direction. The two turned to see Buffy and Andi cackling as they sprayed the entirety of the party with the 'air freshener,' and Cyrus cringed at the thought of getting the silly spray in his hair.
"Want to hide from Buffy and Andi?" Cyrus suggested.
T.J. beamed and rested his hand on the back of Cyrus's back, slightly pushing the boy forward. "Lead the way," T.J. muttered, and Cyrus felt a shiver go down his back. He turned around as they walked towards the back doors, giving T.J. a nervous smile before the two headed outside to the deserted patio.
Once they were outdoors, T.J. shut the doors behind them with a soft thud, and the once booming music from inside now had faded into muffled background noise.
"I'm really glad you came," Cyrus told T.J. again, disrupting the comfortable silence. He felt like he couldn't express this sentiment enough, and he wasn't just talking about the party. Cyrus was glad that T.J. had come up to Buffy that one day in the cafeteria, and ended up helping him get a chocolate chocolate-chip muffin, and, more importantly, that day he had come to the swings. He really liked how T.J. pushed him out of his normal, safe comfort zone, and he loved that he out of all people could get the closed-off basketball player to open up a bit.
"No problem," T.J. said in return. Somehow, Cyrus understood that he wasn't just talking about the party either. "So," he started, plopping down on the top step of the porch. Cyrus quickly followed suit, sliding down next to him. "I never got the chance to talk to you at your bar-mitzvah. How was it?"
Cyrus grinned at the mention of his Bash-Mitzvah. "It was amazing!" he said cheerfully. "Did you enjoy yourself?"
"I did," T.J. said. The boy stared down at his lap, seeming lost in his thoughts, and Cyrus's eyebrows drew together.
"What's wrong?" Cyrus asked, playfully nudging T.J..
T.J. slowly turned to face him, and he looked intently at the boy, hesitantly asking, "Did you go see that fortune-teller?"
Cyrus raised his eyebrows in surprise at the question; that was not what he had expected T.J. to say. "I did. I hope that fortune-teller is a phony because she told me I would be accepted into an Ivy League college but wouldn't graduate from one," he rambled, slumping down in disappointment. How would that even happen? Unless it was up to him to save the world, and he had to drop out of college to do so, Cyrus saw no other plausible explanation for her supposed 'fortune' to come true.
Before he could rant in his mind for too long, Cyrus shook himself from his thoughts; he was supposed to be there for T.J. right now. "Did you?" Cyrus asked curiously in return. He wondered what the fortune-teller had said to make the boy seem so distraught.
"Yeah," T.J. said, drumming his fingers against his knee absentmindedly. Cyrus almost refrained from grabbing it, but he ignored that thought and reached over, squeezing T.J.'s hand comfortingly anyway.
"Hey, you can tell me," Cyrus assured the boy, and T.J. gave him a grateful smile in return.
"Well," T.J. started, busying himself by fiddling with Cyrus's fingers. He stared down at their joined hands as to avoid eye contact; he felt too embarrassed to admit his secret while looking Cyrus in the eye. "You know how I've been struggling with math?"
He glanced up at Cyrus for a fleeting moment and Cyrus nodded, his face solemn. T.J. took a deep breath and looked back down at their hands. "Well, Buffy thought that I might have a learning disorder, so I asked the fortune-teller and…," he trailed off.
"And?" Cyrus urged, lowering his gaze to make T.J. meet his eye line.
T.J. forced himself to look into Cyrus's eyes, and he breathed in deeply. "She said yes."
Cyrus didn't even seem fazed. "You can't really know unless you get tested, T.J.," Cyrus told him. "But, even if she is right, it won't change who you are or how people think of you."
"It already has. I think differently about me," T.J. defended dejectedly.
"I promise that it's nothing to be ashamed about," Cyrus insisted. When T.J. didn't say anything, Cyrus frowned slightly. How could he show T.J. that he shouldn't be embarrassed about something that he had no control over?
Cyrus drew in a shaky breath. Suddenly, he knew exactly what to say. "I have something I'm ashamed about too," he admitted. "And I shouldn't be because it's something I can't change, even though I really wish I could sometimes."
T.J. turned toward him. "What is it?" he asked Cyrus, and Cyrus braced himself; it was now or never.
"I…," he tried, pausing. Come on, Cyrus. You can do this. "I'm gay," he admitted, feeling the pit of his stomach tighten as the words slipped from his mouth.
T.J. blinked in surprise. "You are?" he asked incredulously.
Cyrus was hurt at the boy's reaction, and he withdrew his hand, Could T.J. not accept that he liked guys? "Are you not okay with that or…," he began, not being able to finish his sentence without his throat constricting. He felt tears begin to well up in his eyes, and he tried to blink them back. Don't cry, Cyrus, he told himself. Don't cry.
"No, no, I meant…I was just…," T.J. tried to explain. He ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "I mean…I am, too."
Cyrus was caught completely off guard. Had he heard that right? "You…what?"
T.J. sighed. "I'm gay too," he repeated, blushing a light red. "It's part of my stuff."
Cyrus almost laughed at their little inside joke, but he was too overwhelmed with the news. "Wow," was all he managed to say.
T.J. scooted closer next to him. "Well, this is good news for me," he remarked lightly.
Cyrus gulped nervously. "Why?" he asked, the word barely passing through his lips.
"Now I know that there's at least a possibility that you could like me back." Cyrus felt the corners of his lips tug up at the boy's words, and he wished he had the courage to tell T.J. how he felt back. Wait, why couldn't he tell T.J. that he liked him too? There was nothing stopping him…
At this sudden burst of confidence, Cyrus opened his mouth to tell T.J., but before he could even get a single word out of his mouth, a round of commotion emitted from the two doors leading out to the patio, causing the two boys to abruptly turn their heads to the noise.
"Found ya!" Andi and Buffy exclaimed in unison, two cans of silly spray in each of their hands. They both pressed down on the nozzles, spraying them relentlessly with the sticky strands.
"Ah!" Cyrus screamed, cowering behind T.J..
T.J. grinned good-naturedly and pulled Cyrus close to him, acting as a human-shield from Andi and Buffy's attacks.
"That's not fair!" Buffy cried out.
The girls continued to assault them (without remorse, Cyrus thought he should mention) and he gripped onto T.J. as tightly as he could, admiring how good the basketball player smelled. What cologne did he use?
After a couple minutes the cans of silly spray stopped being effective, and Buffy shook hers, making sure every last ounce was used.
"Darn," Buffy said, letting the now useless bottles hang at her sides. "Oh well. We always have more inside," she suggested wickedly.
Andi laughed. "I think that's enough for now," she said. Cyrus sighed in relief that she was giving them a break; his hair was safe for now. "Come on inside, guys," she urged, gesturing forward. "The party's not over yet!"
"We'll come inside in a minute," Cyrus promised.
Buffy and Andi exchanged a confused glance but they shrugged. "Okay then." The two headed back inside, leaving the two boys by themselves again.
Now alone, the two boys found themselves in a tense silence. Both of them had so much to say and yet neither knew how to say it.
"Thanks for saving me from my fate," Cyrus started, breaking it. He lifted a strand from T.J.'s tousled hair, and he laughed awkwardly to dissipate the left over tension. "That stuff sticks to me like glue."
T.J. squeezed his shoulder, sending tingles throughout Cyrus's body. "No problem," he said. T.J. stared at Cyrus momentarily, seeming to fight with himself internally before leaning forward to press a sweet, chaste kiss onto Cyrus's cheek. Cyrus lips parted in surprise at the action. T.J. Kippen just kissed me! Cyrus didn't know how he stopped himself from squealing At that moment. "Ready to go inside?" T.J. asked, a light blush dusted across his cheeks.
Cyrus was dumbstruck. "Y-yeah," he said, trying to ignore the warm feeling blossoming throughout his chest. As T.J. began to walk towards the house, Cyrus found his source of confidence again. "Hey, T.J.?"
The basketball player stopped in his tracks, slowly turning around to face Cyrus. "Yeah?"
Cyrus smiled. "For the record…I like you too."
T.J. beamed at his words. "I was hoping you'd say that, Underdog." He held out his hand, offering it for Cyrus to take. "You know, the party isn't over," T.J. said, a wide smile etched on his face.
Cyrus strode over to where T.J. was. "The night is still young," Cyrus agreed, happily bringing their hands together. Suddenly he wished that Andi threw impromptu parties more often.
I really hope you all enjoyed this prompt! I'll be working on the 6 other requests I have (hard to believe people have sent in that many, right?! I'm excited). Please leave comments on this fic and don't forget to check it out on Tumblr and AO3. My Tumblr blog is cyrusgoodboye. Please send me requests!
~emmagrace13