T J
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought of bringing a boy over. I never thought I would get close enough to someone to bring them over. Sure I hung out with my 'friends' but it was never at my own house. It was always at some public place or one of their houses. But here I was, preparing to enter my house with Cyrus Goodman.
"Your house is so nice," He gaped at the large two-story house. I shrugged.
"It's nothing spectacular when you live here for a few years," I said. I opened the door and guided Cyrus into the living room. My nose scrunched up at the smell of the vanilla-scented candles Amber always lit up around the house. It was her favorite scent for some odd reason, and with no one ever home, she always has them scattered around.
"Is this you?" Cyrus asked from behind me. I didn't even realize he began to look at all the family pictures lying around on display. I cringed at the one he was holding. It was me in sixth or seventh grade with an Obi-Wan costume on.
"That was uhh a phase," I dismissed, hoping he wouldn't pry into it.
He raised a knowing brow and smirked at me. "Mr. Popular was once a geek? Wow, the more you know," He put the picture down and followed me upstairs. I heard music coming from the bathroom and instantly knew Amber was in there.
"Honey, whatcha waiting fooooorrr? Welcome to my candy stoooooreee," I heard her off-key singing, and I stifled a laugh, and Cyrus covered his mouth to stop his own laugh from coming out. I smiled at him as I motioned him to my room.
I stood there semi-awkwardly as he examined my room. His eyes moved from the jerseys on my wall to my desk, taking in every detail it seemed like. "Huh," was all he said.
I quirked a brow. "Is it what you expected?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I guess. I just thought it would be more..." He trailed off.
"More what?"
"I don't know like more fan-boy. You know, posters everywhere, you've already got jerseys hanging up, so you're halfway there," He said cheekily, taking a seat on my bed.
"Hey, I'm not a fan-boy," I protested, taking a seat next to him. My leg began to heat up as I realized how close his own was to mine. I pulled and tried to ignore it.
"You totally are! You, Tj Kippen, are a fan-boy," He proclaimed.
I scoffed. "You can be a little annoying. You know that?"
He feigned hurt. "Wow, my feelings. This is coming from the oblivious Mr. Popular," He chided.
It was my turn to be fake hurt. I placed a hand on my chest. "Well, at least I'm not suffering from psyocpathy," I stuck my tongue out childishly.
Cyrus's lips pressed into a thin line as his brows furrowed. "Psy-what?" He questioned.
"Psyocpathy. You know, crazy."
A moment of silence passed before Cyrus began to laugh softly. His laugh quickly grew, and soon he was on the floor laughing his heart out. I sat there confused, but my heart was doing flips at his cute laugh. I couldn't stop the small smile that had grown on my face as I watched him.
He slowly stopped laughing as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh my gosh, Tj. It's psychopathy, not whatever you just said," He said, a small smile still on his face.
I just sat there, feeling like a huge idiot. "Oh," was all I said as my face started heating up.
"Aww, you're blushing. You almost look like a child when you blush," He teased.
"Shut up. I'm almost a fully grown man," I said proudly.
He rolled his eyes, getting ready to respond when the door opened. "Oh, hey, Tj...and friend," Amber's head popped in through the door.
"What do you want, Amber?" I said, annoyed at her presence.
She scoffed. "Well, I was checking to see if you were home since I heard voices in here. Hey, I remember you from The Spoon the other day. Cyrus, wasn't it?" She asked.
Cyrus nodded. "Yup, that's me," He said awkwardly.
"Alright, you know I'm here. You can leave now," He told her.
"Fine. It was nice seeing you again, Cyrus," She waved at him and gave me a look that I returned.
"I'm sorry you have to deal with that," I turned to Cyrus.
"It's cool. She's uh, nice," He stated unsurely.
"Trust me. You'd change your mind if you lived with her," I said, making Cyrus laugh a little.
"Hey, Tj, can I ask you something?" He said all of a sudden.
"Sure thing. What's up?" I grew weary, thinking about all the things he could end up asking me. Did he want to go home? Was he tired of being around me? Did he think I had hidden motives behind hanging out with him?
"Why do you insist on hanging out with me so much? You have all these cool friends and could hang out with them, but you always seem to want to hang out with me. I'm just the quiet new kid," He looked down at the floor as I struggled to answer.
"It's because none of it is real," I let out a shaky breath as he looked back at me with a confused glance. "None of it is real. I hate all these people I call friends because they aren't my friends. They couldn't care less about what happens to me. They're only around me because my parents are rich. None of these girls actually want me for me; they want to seem cool by dating me. When I met you, I knew something was different about you. What I feel for you is real. You're like the only true friend I've ever had, Cyrus," His eyes began to water as my heart dropped.
"Hey, I didn't mean to-" I was cut off when his arms were suddenly around me. Slowly I wrapped my arms around him too. I sat there, confused as to what was happening.
"I know what it's like to have no one. I've never had a real friend either before I came here. My life was just a straight narrow path of darkness, but I feel like since I came here, that path has been lighter," He said.
We sat there, hugging for what felt like an eternity. I was lost in my thoughts as the room became deathly quiet. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard soft snoring. I looked down to see Cyrus had fallen asleep. I chuckled as I moved him further onto the bed, trying my best not to wake him. After I detached his arms from me, I stood there for a second, admiring the sleeping boy below me. His lips were slightly parted, and his hair fell onto his face.
I felt like such a creep, but I couldn't help myself. I reached a hand forward and brushed the hair out of his face. I smiled but shook my head and left the room.
"Goodnight, Cyrus," I softly said as I turned the lights off.
I definitely feel something for him, and it's not good.
